Luis Gil will look to continue his incredible start to the season Sunday against the Dodgers, and the breakout right-hander credited Jose Trevino for part of his success.
Gil said Saturday through an interpreter that the catcher helps him “concentrate” while he’s on the mound.
And that’s no accident.
“First of all, he’s a special pitcher,’’ Trevino said when told of Gil’s praise. “He’s the one throwing the ball. He’s young, he doesn’t have that many innings in the big league and I feel like I can help him.”
Trevino said he works with Gil on game situations and chats with him between innings with one main goal: “Clearing his head. I want him to throw the ball, I don’t want him to think about anything. I just want him to throw the ball to me. Let me handle everything.”
The strategy has worked.
Gil has put himself into the All-Star conversation and if given the chance to be on the team, Gil said it would be a “blessing.”
Trevino has played a significant role in getting him to this point.
In 50 ¹/₃ innings over eight starts, Gil has a 0.54 ERA with Trevino behind the plate compared to a 5.21 ERA in 19 innings over four outings pitching to Austin Wells.
Because Gil pitched in just one game with the Yankees in 2022 and didn’t take the mound at all for them last year when he was coming back from Tommy John surgery, he and Trevino never worked together until this past spring training.
“I caught him in a live BP and said to myself, ‘This is good,’ ” Trevino said. “Then I caught him in a game against the Mets in spring training and said again, ‘This is good.’ ”
That start came after Gil had been sent to minor league camp and then brought back to the big league side following Gerrit Cole’s injury.
Gil was involved in the competition for the fifth starter, but Trevino didn’t look too far ahead.
“I wasn’t making any assumptions,’’ Trevino said of the battle for the fifth spot. “I knew he was really good. All the guys were. I just knew at some point, we’ll see him again.”
Gil never went away and has been the Yankees’ top starter in Cole’s absence.
Asked if he saw this version of Gil so soon on the horizon, Trevino just laughed.
“It’s all about opportunity and preparation,’’ Trevino said. “That plays. He was prepared and he got an opportunity. Now, he’s doing what he’s doing. It’s special, but there’s still a long way to go. The crazy thing is, he’s still learning.”
To Trevino’s point, after walking 24 batters in 37 innings in his first seven starts, Gil has issued only 10 walks in 32 ¹/₃ innings over his last five outings.
Add to that the fact Gil has become almost impossible to hit in his last three games, allowing just four hits in 20 ¹/₃ innings with an opposing batting average of .063, it’s hard to find a more dominant starter in the league.
Gil turned 26 less than a week ago and entered the season having pitched in just seven games in the majors, but has looked like a veteran so far in 2024 and Trevino is a big reason why.