While the Yankees still don't have an official update regarding Luis Gil's elbow injury, it doesn't sound like any good news is on the way.
Gil has a "significant injury," manager Aaron Boone revealed on Friday.
"They're still kind of working through opinions and all that," Boone said. "I don't want to get too far into it, but it's significant."
Gil—New York's No. 9 prospect, per MLB Pipeline—left his start with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday night after pointing to his elbow in the fifth inning.
His outing with the RailRiders on Wednesday came six days after Gil's start in Chicago with the Yankees. The right-hander was called up to help New York reset their rotation after a rainout.
Gil threw four innings at Guaranteed Rate Field, allowing four runs on five hits while striking out five. Including his injury-shortened appearance in Triple-A this week, the 23-year-old has struggled in the Minors, posting a 7.89 ERA over six starts (21.2 innings pitched) with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Those numbers are a surprise when you consider Gil's historic first impression in the big leagues last summer. Gil didn't allow a run until his fourth MLB start, finishing the year with a 3.07 ERA over six outings, with 38 strikeouts and 20 hits allowed in 29.1 innings pitched.
"He's a young man and he's got a lot of talent," Boone added on Friday. "Unfortunately this is part of it sometimes. Injury, unfortunately, is part of the game sometimes. You got to handle that as a professional athlete sometimes. How you deal with it, sometimes it allows you to, in some cases, especially when you're a young man, you can come back better for it. I think you find out a lot about yourself and your character and your dedication and your work habits. Sometimes those things can all get better, through adversity that comes your way, in this case in an injury."
If Gil does miss an extended period of time, which appears to be the likeliest scenario, New York can count on a surplus of depth in their pitching department. The Yankees don't need any reinforcements in the big leagues as of now, and they have a crew of highly-touted prospects—including JP Sears, Deivi García, Hayden Wesneski and Ken Waldichuk—holding it down in Triple-A.
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