Yankees DFA Cade Winquest, will activate Luis Gil for season debut: Source

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The Yankees designated Winquest for assignment on Thursday, a team source confirmed, to make room on the 26-man roster for Luis Gil, who will make his season debut Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays after beginning the season in the minor leagues. It’s possible Winquest remains with the Yankees organization, but it’s unlikely. He would have to clear waivers, and the St. Louis Cardinals, Winquest’s former team, would have to decline to pay the Yankees $50,000 to bring him back to their organization. Only then could the Yankees retain Winquest’s full rights and the ability to option him to the minor leagues. For Winquest, it likely marks the end of a bizarre situation. The Yankees initially optioned Gil to the minors because they did not need a fifth starter for the first two weeks of the season. That move allowed them to carry an extra reliever without losing Winquest to the waiver wire, because he needed to remain on their 26-man roster all season. But after 12 games, Yankees manager Aaron Boone never used Winquest, and the team effectively played one man short. It was clear that Boone and his staff did not trust Winquest, whose highest level in professional baseball before this season was Double A. In fact, Boone suggested earlier this season in Seattle that when the Yankees led the Mariners by five runs, they would have needed a six-run lead for Winquest to pitch. “For the most part, these games have been low-scoring, so it hasn’t lined up yet,” Boone said on April 1, the day after a 5-0 Yankees win. “If we scored another run there in the ninth, I was probably going to bring him in there. Hopefully, that opportunity presents itself at some point.” Now, that opportunity will probably come elsewhere, as the Yankees move to a traditional five-man rotation after starting the season with Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers as their top four starters. The pressure will be on Gil to perform, or his spot in the rotation could be at jeopardy once Carlos Rodón returns from rehabbing his left elbow after offseason surgery. Rodón threw 40 pitches earlier this week. Boone has not said what the veteran’s next step will be. Gil last pitched for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday, and the results were mixed. He finished with 4 2/3 innings pitched, allowing four hits, three walks and three runs, while striking out six. His fastball topped out at 96 mph, 3 mph slower than his hardest pitch in spring training. The weather in Gil’s start for Scranton was bitterly cold and could have been a factor during his outing. Interestingly, Gil’s most-used pitch in that start was his sinker, an offering he debuted during his final outing in spring training. Gil has been a three-pitch starter for his entire big-league career, and it’s become increasingly difficult for him to have success in the big leagues because his four-seamer has been less effective. But the Yankees believe Gil’s sinker could become a difference-maker for him. “He threw some really good sinkers,” Boone said of Gil on March 20. “If the sinker could come into play in some way, shape, or form, great.” In that first start with his new sinker, Gil struck out seven and limited the Baltimore Orioles to one hit across five scoreless innings. What also helped Gil’s effectiveness that night was having a higher release point, something the Yankees worked on with him all spring. They believe that when Gil has a higher release point, it helps his fastball, in particular, have more deception. The lack of a quality fastball derailed Gil’s 2025 season after he returned from a lat strain. He pitched to a 3.32 ERA, but all of the expected metrics pointed to a high level of luck. The Yankees knew this, and it was the reason they hoped to avoid having him pitch in the postseason. In 2024, the year he won the American League Rookie of the Year Award, Gil had a 28.4 percent strikeout rate on his fastball. Last season, that dropped to 14.1 percent. All spring, the Yankees kept referencing his dominant 2024 season and hoping that version is still inside Gil. Friday will be his first opportunity to prove the Yankees right. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Chris Kirschner is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the New York Yankees. He previously covered the Atlanta Hawks from 2018-2022 for The Athletic. Chris was named Georgia's Sportswriter of the Year in 2021 for his work covering the Hawks. Chris is a native of Bronx, NY. Follow Chris on Twitter @chriskirschner