KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Luis Gil does not want to look ahead.
He is focusing on his starts and his between-start work, a mindset that has worked for him just fine.
But if arguably the most difficult starting pitcher to hit against gets the nod for the All-Star Game, yes, he would want to pitch in the event at Globe Life Field in Texas.
“If I’m given the opportunity, I would love to participate and pitch,” Gil said through interpreter Marlon Abreu before the Yankees lost, 4-3, to the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. “It’s a blessing and a dream.”
There is little doubt that the 26-year-old — who entered play with the third-best ERA among qualified AL starters (2.04) and the best batting average against (.136) in MLB — belongs.
There is more doubt about whether his right arm will hold up and whether the Yankees would be comfortable pushing the limits with an arm they value and recently required surgery.
Gil is in his first full season back from May 2022 Tommy John surgery, having pitched just four minor league innings in September last year.
When Gil gets the ball Friday at Fenway Park, he will add on to an innings count that already has reached 75.
The most innings he ever has completed in a professional season is the 108 ²/₃ he logged between the minors and majors in 2021, which he is on pace to surpass in about a handful of starts — which means he likely will be setting his career-high in innings in early July or so.
Gil does not sound concerned.
“I feel really good physically,” said Gil, who has allowed three hits or fewer in 10 of his 13 starts this season. “We haven’t really talked about limiting [his innings] at all. For me, it’s really about staying locked in.”
Aaron Boone suggested the same.
The Yankees are monitoring how Gil feels not just with what he says but what his data says — whether, for example, his arm slot or velocity begins dropping — and the manager said Gil physically has held up well.
Boone said there have not yet been discussions about slowing down a pitcher who has been their best.
“We’ll see as we go,” Boone said.
Two starts ago, Boone lifted Gil after 88 pitches in six innings in a win over the Twins, a fact the manager pointed out as a small show of occasionally giving Gil a break.
“Picking those spots where you don’t necessarily push through just because he’s all right,” Boone said. “We will be certainly mindful of [his workload] and still paying attention to all the things recovery-wise and how he’s bouncing back and how he’s looking.”
The return of Gerrit Cole, which should come soon, and eventual return of Clarke Schmidt in a couple months would add more choices to a rotation that has been excellent.
The Yankees could convert Gil to a reliever for a bullpen that could use more swing-and-miss.
But would they really demote perhaps the most electric arm in the AL thus far?
For his part, Gil believes his arm can survive the season and beyond.
“If given the opportunity, I think I’m ready to pitch all the way up until October,” Gil said. “I think it has to do with how good I’m feeling — the preparation and everything that goes with it. I’m in a good spot right now.”