Yankees Young Ace Takes Huge Step in Injury Recovery

New York Yankees right-handed starting pitcher Luis Gil took a significant step forward in his recovery from a lat strain that's kept him out for the entire season.

Before the club began the second game of their series against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, Gil threw live batting practice for the first time since going down with his injury during spring training.

“I felt really good out there,” Gil said through an interpreter, according to the New York Post's Greg Joyce. “It’s been a process. You heal little by little. Felt good to get on the mound and face some hitters.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone has been encouraged by how Gil's looked throughout the entire process and laid out a brief plan for how the rest of the process will play out before he can officially return to the team.

“Fortunately, after the [injury], it’s been a slow buildup, but it’s gone well every step of the way,” he said. “So that’s been encouraging. Now we start to build. Build lives, pitch counts and then eventually getting into rehab games. Definitely another important box to check."

Per NJ.com's Max Goodman, Boone also described Gil as a pseudo trade deadline acquisition considering he's on track to make his way back to the major leagues around late July or early August.