Luis Gil is getting closer to his return.
The Yankees starter was set to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset on Sunday afternoon, marking his first time pitching in a game since he suffered a high-grade lat strain during spring training.
Gil was scheduled to throw 50 pitches on Sunday and then build up his pitch count in subsequent rehab appearances.
“As we chart out his days to pitch, we know what he’ll be on July 30,” manager Aaron Boone said, referring to Gil’s pitch count. “When you get to that last one or two [outings], do you take him at 75 [pitches]? Do you want to get him to 90? That will be the decision.”
Boone described a “conservative build” for Gil, saying the right-hander would likely throw fewer than 60 pitches in his second minor-league start.
“We definitely want him to have at least a few rehab outings,” Boone said.
Gil, 27 was shut down with the lat strain in early March. He began his throwing program in late April, resumed throwing from a mound in late May and threw his first live bullpen session last month.
“From the moment you go through an injury like this, immediately you want to get back on the field,” Gil said on June 21. “It’s about competing, helping your team and being out there with those guys.”
The return of Gil would provide a boost for a Yankees rotation that lost fellow right-handers Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt to season-ending elbow injuries.
Gil went 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 151.2 innings last season and won American League Rookie of the Year. He started Game 4 of the World Series.
NEED FOR FRIED
The blister that forced Max Fried out of Saturday’s start could affect the Yankees’ pitching plans coming out of this week’s All-Star break.
Boone said Fried would do all of the “tricks” he could to treat the blister.
“We’ll see how it lines up for when we want to line him up coming out of the break, probably based on how that’s recovered,” Boone said.
Blisters are nothing new for Fried, who landed on the injured list four times in past seasons due to the issue.
Fried, 31, allowed four runs (three earned) in three innings and exited after 73 pitches in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
The left-hander was already going to sit out of Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Atlanta before the injury.
The Yankees’ first series after the break is also in Atlanta, where Fried spent his first eight MLB seasons.
TRACKING TRENT
Trent Grisham was out of the starting lineup for Sunday’s series finale against the Cubs, with Boone opting to give the center fielder a little extra rest as he nurses an ailing hamstring.
“My tiebreaker on who to rest today was, ‘Man, if I can somehow get Grish another day into the four days [off for the All-Star break], I’m gonna take my shot on that.’ That being said, he’s totally available off the bench, too,” Boone said.
Grisham exited the Yankees’ June 30 game in Toronto with left hamstring tightness but has appeared in seven games since then, including Saturday’s.
He is hitting .251 with 16 homers and an .817 OPS.
“I feel like he’s been able to play with it, but I think it’s limited him a little bit on the bases and in the field,” Boone said. “But he’s obviously still playing so well, so I don’t want to take him out completely.”
BY GEORGE
The future appears bright for George Lombard Jr.
The Yankees’ top prospect went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk in the All-Star Futures Game in Atlanta on Saturday.
Lombard, 20, also stole a base and scored a run. He started at second base and batted ninth.
