The Yankees made another roster move on Sunday, adding a potential weapon to the bullpen.
Luis Gil was called back up to the majors after completing his rehab assignment with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in a new role. He started his recovery journey in the bullpen earlier this month with the Hudson Valley Renegades, where he allowed two hits and recorded two strikeouts over three innings pitched, then gave the Yankees enough confidence for his return to the lineup after closing out August in Scranton with a 1.23 WHIP through five games.
Yerry de los Santos was sent down to Scranton with hopes to give the Yankees more flexibility after burning through a few of their arms this weekend. During his appearance in the series finale against Houston, Santos gave up a home run and recorded a strikeout in the seventh inning that sealed the loss for the Yankees. He attempted redemption in his two appearances during the doubleheader against the Red Sox, allowing a hit and striking out two on Saturday.
Despite initially starting the year as an option for the rotation, the short stretch of time remaining in the regular season forced Gil to transition into a relief role in order to aid a depleted Yankees bullpen. With the news of both Fernando Cruz and Ryan Weathers joining the IL in the same week, they’ll need all the help they can get to propel the final postseason push.
Injuries have indeed been a plague that has infectiously impacted several stars throughout this roster, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, or at the end of the regular season in this case. With Gil joining the roster, the Yankees will have as fresh a bullpen as they can stock ahead of a series finale with Boston that carries hefty postseason implications for whoever can take it. If both the Yankees and Red Sox hypothetically finished the regular season with the same record, the winner of Sunday’s game would secure home-field advantage in the Wild Card series.
Aaron Boone will surely be happy with today’s decision to call him up if Gil can get through an inning or two unscathed in his debut. He’ll offer a much-needed boost to the bullpen for the Yankees’ upcoming West Coast road trip, beginning with the Angels in Los Angeles on Tuesday before taking on the Padres later next week.
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