It seems like Luis Gil starting 2026 in minor leagues did nothing for the Yankees

New York Yankees right-hander Luis Gil made his debut start in Triple-A on Sunday, and he didn't garner rave reviews. Gil went 4 2/3, allowing four hits, a homer, and three earned runs on 90 pitches. He struck out six and walked four. The most relevant number for Gil, though, was his velocity. Gil's fastball was in the 93-95 mph range, representing a significant drop-off from his upper-90s norm.

Gil's fastball was humming at top capacity during his final spring training start, thanks in large part to Matt Blake-induced arm angle changes; what happened between then and now?

Did Gil forget Blake's pointers, or is this just more inconsistency without a clear explanation?

Luis Gil's demotion was part of a larger plan that the Yankees failed to execute

Gil's demotion made sense in the grand scheme of the Yankees' Opening Day roster, but it's possible that it didn't make sense for Gil. Now that we know that Gil is set to rejoin the Yankees' rotation in the coming days, New York's pitching plan from the get-go has come into view. Realizing that their schedule allowed for a four man rotation in the early going, the Yankees sent Gil down for two reasons: to have Gil hone his craft in the interim, and to create space in the MLB bullpen for a Cade Winquest evaluation period.

Neither of those objectives have been fulfilled. Mission failed. Gil has regressed during the short period he's spent away from Blake, and Winquest hasn't been used once! This has become yet another chapter in the sad saga that is the failed Winquest experiment, and it's about time the Yankees take the loss on him and move forward.

Aaron Boone's had multiple opportunities to employ Winquest through the first ten games of the season, and the fact that he hasn't pulled the trigger reveals that there's zero trust there. Sunday was the first time that Boone made the call for Winquest to start warming, and it only happened because the Yankees' bullpen was completely taxed in a game that was potentially heading to extra innings. The Yankees nearly mounted in a comeback in the ninth but fell short. Winquest still hasn't appeared.

The Winquest/Gil debate falls adjacent to the discussion about wins and losses in April being just as meaningful as wins and losses in August. In other words, if the time for roster experimentation is now, how does a manager like Boone weigh that strategy against the importance of adopting a must-win mindset right away, especially in a highly competitive division? The answer lies with each team's discretion, but whichever direction is chosen, it must be committed to resolutely.

The Yankees didn't lean into their Winquest/Gil plan, and they subsequently landed in no man's land. If the plan was to test Winquest while the season's still young enough, why haven't they used him?

Winning disguises a ton of bad decisions, and as long as the Yankees keep stacking W's, their iffy bullpen management will fly under the radar. But there's a good chance the Yankees will need Gil to be a bullpen contributor come October. Hopefully, their slippery handling of his season thus far doesn't come back to bite them when it matters.