The New York Yankees will be without the services of starting pitcher Luis Gil for at least the next two weeks with a back strain, and in a corresponding move they recalled Will Warren from Triple-A earlier this week. Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed Friday that Warren will be taking Gil’s place in the rotation starting Saturday when they take on the Colorado Rockies on Old Timer’s Day (h/t MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch).
Boone added that Marcus Stroman, who has seemed to have fixed the mechanical issues in his pitching, will be starting on Sunday to keep the order of the rotation intact.
Will Warren will have his biggest opportunity with the Yankees so far in his career
This will be the third separate trip to the majors for Warren this season, as he has come up to make occasional spot starts over the course of the past month. He has made three starts and they haven’t been the kindest to the young right-hander, as he is pitching to a 8.59 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP in 14.2 big league innings thrown.
His last start against the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 14 was undoubtedly the best he has had in his short MLB career so far, throwing five innings while giving up two runs, walking no batters and striking out five. Given that he is team’s fifth-highest rated prospect in their farm system, the Yankees would love to see him start to get accustomed to pitching in the majors and deliver strong results.
Warren could compete for a playoff roster spot this season
The injury to Gil provides Warren with an opportunity to make a name for himself and perhaps compete for a spot in the bullpen on the Yankees’ playoff roster this season. The team is still waiting on the return of Clarke Schmidt, who began a rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset on Friday, so they will need Warren to show positive results on the mound with two key pitchers out.
This opportunity for him could also serve as an audition to potentially land a spot in the starting rotation next season, and the Yankees will be hopeful that Warren can take advantage of this opportunity during a tight pennant race with one month left in the season.