Yankees' Luis Gil: What a difference a year makes 

TAMPA, Fla. — Luis Gil entered last spring training more or less as an afterthought.

The righthander, a one-time top pitching prospect in the organization, had not pitched in the majors since 2022 because of injury, and the hope was the pitcher could, at best, make it through the spring healthy and be stored away at Triple-A to be called upon for rotation depth during the regular season.

Gil was even sent to minor-league camp after just a few weeks.

But everything changed last March 11 when Gil was called on to start a split-squad game in Clearwater against the Phillies. That afternoon, against the Phillies’ “A” lineup, which included Bryce Harper, Gil allowed one hit and a walk in 3 2⁄3 scoreless innings in which he struck out eight.

“Best guy we faced all spring,” Philadelphia’s veteran hitting coach Kevin Long, the Yankees hitting coach from 2007-14, said a few days afterward.

The performance reverberated throughout the Yankees organization — in all ways positive — and Gil went on to win the fifth starter job. He parlayed that into American League Rookie of the Year honors and came into this spring with a rotation spot firmly in hand.

But Gil, now 26, said his mentality this spring isn’t any different than last. In his mind, he still needs to earn his spot.

“One of the key things about getting ready for the season is having a certain mindset,” Gil said through his interpreter Wednesday after throwing his second live batting practice of the spring. “Regardless if you have a spot in the rotation or not, that mindset is essential. You have to have that drive and that mindset when you come into spring training and you kind of focus on that.”

Gil, who had among his earliest supporters last spring ace righthander Gerrit Cole, went 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 29 starts. He threw a career-high 151 2/3 innings, blowing past his previous high, the 96 he threw in the minors, at Low-A Charleston and High-A Tampa, in 2019.

Gil said the workload did not impact his offseason; in fact, his throwing program was similar to the one he undertook going into 2024.

“I wanted to stay close to what I did last year coming into camp, because I felt it worked out well for me,” Gil said. “It involved resting for two weeks of no baseball activities at all once the season was over, then follow that with a good stretch of cardio and then eventually getting back into the gym to get strong. I wanted to follow what worked last year.”

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What most impressed Cole about Gil, starting last spring, was the power pitcher’s “faculty” on the mound, specifically his ability to make adjustments.

It was something J.C. Escarra, attempting to win a roster spot out of camp at backup catcher, referenced after catching Gil’s live BP Wednesday.

“Electric stuff. I saw electric stuff,” Escarra said. “He was a lot better in his last (live BP), throwing more strikes. But the secondary pitches today were the stars of the show. He had his slider going on, he had his changeup.”

Aaron Boone said Gil is “in a pretty good spot.”

“He was a little in and out of rhythm today,” Boone said. “Stuff’s really good. It looked like his offseason was the right one where he physically came in ready to go, where we wanted him to be from a throwing standpoint. I feel he’s done a really good job of, obviously, coming off an outstanding season for him, with a lot of volume, and striking that balance between getting the necessary rest . . . to also being ready to go when he came in. I feel his steps to this point have been pretty good.”

Notes & quotes: Boone said Marcus Stroman, who missed the first two days of voluntary workouts with the rest of the pitchers and catchers, would start Friday’s Grapefruit League opener. . . . Boone said Chase Hampton, one of the club’s top pitching prospects, was sent to New York for additional testing after suffering a flexor strain and “something going on with the UCL.” Hampton’s 2024 spring in big-league camp was cut short with a flexor strain, eventually making it back by July 1. But a lower-body injury in early August ended Hampton’s season. “Just having an uneven season last year with some injuries, he’s pretty bummed,” Boone said. “We’ll see what we have and try to get it right.” . . . Boone said Clarke Schmidt, assumed to be a part of the rotation when camp breaks, has been dealing with a “cranky” back. But the righthander threw a flat-ground session Wednesday, Boone said, and is expected to throw a bullpen on Friday. “I don’t think it’s much of anything,” Boone said.