"He had the raw qualities you can work with" - Yankees pitching director Sam Briend reflects on Luis Gil's transformation

It’s a tough job to replace Gerrit Cole, but Luis Gil has been managing it well. Cole is rehabbing after sustaining an elbow injury and is expected to join the Yankees in the coming months. However, until that happens, his position has been assigned to the 25-year-old Dominican ace.

Chris Kirschner of The Athletic shared how the Yankees met Luis Gill, who has impressed experts since his early days, including Sam Briend, the Yankees director of pitching. Briend played a great role in Gil’s development.

“He had raw qualities that you can work with,” Briend said of Gil, via The Athletic.

“You had that big power fastball, the slider was probably the tough pitch but you liked the way the body moves. You like the way the delivery moved. He was a little bit young. … But those guys, you always dream of getting as an organization because there’s so many good raw characteristics that you think you can develop on.”

His talent was first spotted by Fred Guerrero, then the Minnesota Twins’ director of Latin American scouting. Despite Gil's light stature, Guerrero believed that he could be a big name with proper nurturing and mechanisms. The Twins signed the 16-year Gil with a $90,000 offer.

However, in the 2015 Dominican Summer League team, Gil walked 26 batters in 23.1 innings and had a 1.76 WHIP. His strong desire to throw hard led to a shoulder surgery that cost him the entire 2016 season.

It was when he met Cibney Bello, the Twins' former rehab pitching coach, who reshaped Gil as an ace. On his return in 2017, Gil was fit and full of confidence. He posted a 2.59 ERA in 41.2 innings for the Twins’ DSL team and dropped his WHIP to 1.22. However, his Major League debut was still due for a few more years.

Gil caught the attention of Travis Chapman, the Yankees’ current first-base coach, in the 2017 Dominican Summer League. When the Yankees' front office came to Chapman for a trade suggestion for Dake Cave, he gave Gil’s proposal, and both teams agreed, making Luis Gil a part of the Bronx Bombers in 2018.

Gil debuted with the Yankees in 2021 but didn't play many games. This year, Cole's sudden injury has paved the way for him in the big league, and he has utilized it in the best way possible.

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Yankee skipper impressed with Luis Gill

On Thursday, the New York Yankees registered their 35th victory of the season by beating the Seattle Mariners 5-0 at the Yankee Satudim. They failed to win the series, but they at least tied it, and Luis Gil had a significant contribution.

Yankees manager, Aaron Boone is very pleased with Gil’s outing.

“He’s been one of the best pitchers in the league and just continues to get better and better,” Boone said. “He’s got so many weapons he can pitch in. … just another great start from him.”

Luis Gil pitched a 6.1 shutout inning against the Mariners in his 10th start of the season, lowering his ERA to 2.11 with eight strikeouts.