Yankees righty Luis Gil's cryptic sad tweet better not be about personal setback

Oft-forgotten in the Yankees' list of rotation options, flamethrowing right-hander Luis Gil should theoretically be back in the mix for 2024, having undergone Tommy John surgery in the first half of the 2022 season.

Gil burst onto the scene during the team's tough 2021 season, establishing himself as a standout during the Yankees' August surge (15.2 shutout innings across three starts to begin his career) before scuffling with his control and contributing to the spiral in September (10 earned runs in three starts that month).

As with most good, young things, Gil's 2022 season represented a significant step back on many fronts. His brief cameo featured more of the control/command bugaboos rather than the eye-popping velocity, as he allowed four earned runs in four innings in his lone MLB outing against the White Sox. In the wake of that start, he pulled himself from a minor-league appearance with discomfort, and very quickly was diagnosed with UCL damage and prescribed Tommy John.

Since then, his timeline has proceeded (apparently) uninterrupted. Gil's first live BP with the team came in mid-July 2023. All signs pointed to the promising pitcher being a 2024 factor; he continued to post positive updates on his Twitter account as the summer went on.

Unfortunately, he then went radio silent for over three weeks before returning Monday night with a set of upset faces.

Yankees starter Luis Gil injury update: We need good news.

Was Gil upset watching the Yankees faceplant in Atlanta? Or was this something more?

Monday's game wasn't particularly out of character for the 2023 Yankees. Getting bashed by the Braves has been par for the course for the way this season has gone. If I were, say, observing the team during my recovery from injury, Monday's game probably wouldn't have been the one to push me over the edge into a bummed-out tweet. Sunday's game? The season-ender? That's when I might've fired off a message instead.

Hopefully, Gil was just expressing the same emotions any Yankee fan would while watching his team struggle from afar, unable to affect the outcome. If he's signaling a setback here, though, it'll add a bummer bow on top of an already devastating year.