TAMPA — Luis Gil’s dominant final start of the spring was still not enough to lock up a spot in the Yankees four-man rotation to begin the season.

Now the question is whether he will open the year in the bullpen or the minors until the Yankees need a fifth starter in early April.

With four off-days in the first 13 days of the season, the Yankees are going with a four-man rotation to begin the year so their starters are not going too long between starts over the first two weeks.

Max Fried will start the opener against the Giants on Wednesday, followed, after a day off, by Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers.

That leaves Gil as the odd man out following a camp in which his stuff was lacking before turning it on Friday night in a throwback performance against the Orioles.

“We’re working through that — do we want him to start a couple [in the minors] and then pop him in the rotation?” Aaron Boone said Sunday after a 4-0 win over the Phillies at Steinbrenner Field. “Is there an avenue to do it a different way? That’s what we’re working through still.”

Gil will stay back in Tampa to throw live batting practice Wednesday to continue his buildup, making it more likely that the Yankees carry an extra reliever on their Opening Day roster.

The arms still vying for spots — with three up for grabs if Gil is optioned, two if he is not — are Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest, lefty Brent Headrick, Jake Bird and Osvaldo Bido.

Headrick and Bird have minor league options while Bido does not and the Yankees must carry Winquest on their roster or offer him back to the Cardinals.

The Yankees could use Gil out of the bullpen in a piggyback role to keep him built up, but they already have length options in Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn.

If Gil throws live batting practice Wednesday, he would likely be unavailable for all of the opening series against the Giants.

Otherwise, they do not need a fifth starter until April 11 and Gil would be eligible to be called up as early as April 9 if he is optioned.

“Obviously, he’d like to be a starter with us, so frustrating [for him],” pitching coach Matt Blake said. “But at the same time, he understands the position we’re in with the way the schedule lines up for the first two weeks in particular. Now it’s just a matter of making sure we do right by him and keep him in rhythm and find the best balance for the bullpen and our starting group.

“It’s not necessarily a specific decision around Luis.”

— Additional reporting by Jon Heyman

PHOENIX –– The most boring camp in baseball is over.

On Saturday, the Dodgers packed up their Camelback Ranch clubhouse into cardboard boxes, portable storage crates and moving vans bound for Los Angeles, departing Arizona after six largely unremarkable weeks of spring training.

“It’s been a quiet camp,” manager Dave Roberts quipped Friday. “Some people would say that it’s been a boring camp –– which I think has been good for us.”

Indeed, the Dodgers return home in about as strong a shape as they could have possibly hoped ahead of their World Series three-peat bid.

They encountered only one unexpected injury this spring, when Gavin Stone suffered a setback in his surgically repaired shoulder. They got all five of their World Baseball Classic participants back from the tournament unscathed. They have only one roster spot left up for grabs, with Hyeseong Kim and Alex Freeland waiting to learn who earned the final bench spot to begin the season.

Most importantly, the team largely played well, too, posting a Cactus League-best 19-8-1 record after a 5-5 tie against the Athletics on Saturday.

However, some lingering questions remain ahead of Opening Day on Thursday. Even six long weeks of spring haven’t brought total clarity to the state of the team yet.

Here are the three most pressing, as the regular season nears:

Rotation depth

The top of the Dodgers’ rotation looks dominant. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start on Opening Day after an impressive WBC showing. Tyler Glasnow became a spring standout with his improved mentality and delivery. Even Shohei Ohtani has seemed to handle his rushed pitching build-up following the WBC well. Add in the progress Blake Snell made this spring in his return from offseason shoulder problems –– putting him on track to return within the first couple months of the season –– and the Dodgers might have four potential aces before long.

The team’s rotation depth, however, is a potential red flag. Roki Sasaki’s spring training struggles were well-documented. Emmet Sheehan quietly struggled for much of camp, as well, finishing the spring with a 5.91 ERA after a 4 ⅔-inning, four-run, five-strikeout start Saturday.

For now, they will likely be the Nos. 4 and 5 arms in the rotation, with swingman Justin Wrobleski capable of piggybacking with them or being a spot sixth starter when needed (the Dodgers can get away with a five-man rotation for the first couple weeks of the season thanks to an abundance of off-days). 

After them, there are question marks, with Stone out injured, River Ryan being eased into the season in his return from Tommy John, and Cole Irvin and Landon Knack being the next best organizational alternatives.

Last year, the Dodgers’ inability to get length from their starters incurred season-long costs on the bullpen. And until Sasaki, Sheehan or someone else beyond them can show consistent efficiency, the risk of overburdening the bullpen with repeatedly short starts will be a concern.

No matter how good the team’s top arms look.

Right-handed relief

The Dodgers now boast one of the best right-handed relievers in baseball in new closer Edwin Díaz. How they get to him in the ninth inning, though, is something of a question.

While Alex Vesia, Jack Dreyer and a seemingly improved Tanner Scott provide plenty of left-handed weapons, the Dodgers’ righty middle relievers did not inspire much confidence this spring.

Blake Treinen was the biggest concern, allowing seven hits, seven walks and six runs over his final five Cactus League outings. Youngster Ben Casparius and Edgardo Henriquez also battled command issues.

Outside of Kyle Hurt, who had a strong camp but like Ryan was optioned as he returns from Tommy John, the most consistent right-handed reliever this spring might’ve been Will Klein, who followed up his heroics in last year’s World Series by allowing just one earned run and one walk in nine spring appearances while striking out nine batters.

Still though, Klein has just 22 career MLB appearances and was a journeyman before last year. 

Thus, while the ninth inning might no longer be of concern for the team, building a bridge there –– especially against right-handed-heavy portions of opposing lineups –– could be a challenge barring some rapid individual improvements.

Staying healthy

The Dodgers might have gotten through this spring healthy. But staying that way will nonetheless be a task.

Their rotation still has to manage the heavy mileage they took on in last year’s playoffs. The lineup is full of 30-somethings who are coming off two consecutive grueling Octobers.

That’s why, in this year’s camp, the Dodgers were cautious with playing time, slowing the progressions of virtually everyone except Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages. Once the regular season begins, they will no longer have that luxury. And whether they can keep everyone healthy over another 162-game marathon could be the defining question of their entire season.

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The Red Sox re-negotiated a deal with lefty Danny Coulombe after an issue with his physical popped up. 

Multiple outlets reported that the veteran pitcher and the organization had originally agreed to a one-year deal for $2.25 million that included $750,000 in incentives. 

The reworked deal now pays him $1 million, along with an active roster bonus that gets Coulombe to $2.25 million as well as the $750,000 related to incentives, The Athletic reported. 

Coulombe, 36, is coming off a 2025 season where he pitched for the Rangers and Twins. 

He registered a 2.30 ERA while striking out 43 batters in as many innings. 

Neither the club nor the player’s representative has addressed the issue publicly. The initial reports did not indicate what was flagged in the physical to lead to the contract change.

Coulombe was out for three months in 2024 after he had surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow, and in 2025, he was out a month early in the season due to a forearm extensor strain. 

He also missed a part of the end of the year due to shoulder fatigue. 

When he arrived at camp this spring, he told reporters that he was healthy. 

“As you get older, it just gets a little harder to get warm in the morning,” Coulombe said. “But I feel good now. I feel healthy, and this is a good [Red Sox] bullpen.”

Coulombe has pitched 11 years in the major leagues, spending time with the Dodgers, A’s, Twins, Orioles and Rangers.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Freddy Peralta is ready.

The new Mets ace is set to start Opening Day and looked crisp Saturday over four innings, allowing just one run against the Astros.

He has one more outing remaining before the regular season begins.

The right-hander’s swing-and-miss stuff was evident in an 8-2 loss to Houston at Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.

And even if his velocity was a tick down from normal — about 1 mph down on most of his pitches, Peralta was unconcerned.

“Everything is getting where I want it to be,’’ Peralta said. “I don’t check my speed. I know myself. I know how I work when I get into the season and the intensity of the game is when I am who I really am. I know what to do.”

That’s true, he said, whether he’s pitching every five or six days, as the Mets could use a six-man rotation.

Manager Carlos Mendoza previously stated Peralta would be the one starter not impacted by that schedule but said that could change, depending on the team’s needs.

Peralta added Saturday he would be fine with pitching with added rest, as long as it was communicated early.

“It’s no problem,” Peralta said. “I’ve been in that situation before — for years. I know I can manage.”

Peralta is passing that veteran attitude and pitching IQ on to the other Mets starters, including Christian Scott.

The 26-year-old, returning from Tommy John surgery, made his second appearance of the spring Tuesday as he works back into major league form.

With the rotation likely filled by Peralta, Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga, Nolan McLean, Sean Manaea and David Peterson, Scott is trying to pick up as much as he can from Peralta while they’re in camp together.

He’s not alone in that attempt, as Peralta came from the Brewers highly respected, as well as successful and willing to impart his wisdom.

And Scott believes he’s uniquely qualified to be a student of Peralta’s.

“I want to pick his brain throughout the season for whatever I can learn,’’ Scott said.

“I know he strikes out a lot of guys,” Scott said. “That’s his calling card. For me, as a pitcher, that’s what I strive to do: Strike out guys at a high level. I watch outings and his delivery is a little more funky than other guys, but to be able to go out there and do it and make every start every year and be able to stay healthy, it’s mind-blowing. I’m trying to be the same way.”

Scott has only nine major league starts to his name, but struck out eight batters in six innings in his second start with the Mets in 2024.

Peralta, as Scott noted, has shown an ability to be productive and dependable.

Over the previous three seasons, the 29-year-old has made at least 30 starts, had 200-plus strikeouts and made a pair of All-Star teams.

And Scott knows it’s not simply because of talent, which is why he’s kept a close eye on Peralta all spring, even between starts, to see what he can learn.

“The first thing is that he’s the same guy every day at the field,” Scott said. “You know what you’re gonna get from him. I feel that’s underrated, especially over the course of the season. I’ve already seen how high the highs can be and how low the lows are. He’s been through it all for a bunch of seasons and been an All-Star. It’s cool to be able to see a guy like that, who stays consistent on a day-to-day basis.”

And Scott is also getting to know the work it takes to make that possible.

“His catch-play with his throwing program is very consistent,’’ Scott said. “It’s like he hits the glove with every single throw, every time he’s out there. I’ll go by and say ‘That’s beautiful’ and he laughs, but mine isn’t as good.”

He’s working on it.

NORTH PORT, Fla. — Tim Naehring has lived through the highs of Gerrit Cole and the lows of Kei Igawa. CC Sabathia fronting a championship and the hype, hope and quick fizzle that was Deivi Garcia. 

In 19 seasons with the Yankees, 11 as vice president of baseball operations, Naehring has helped form many permutations of the rotation. And so it resonates when he says this is the best he has felt about a group as a season approaches because of “The top-end talent, depth and prospects coming. … This could be a very dynamic pitching staff that has impact and depth.” 

Of course, Naehring adds the proviso about both the need for general health of those pitching right now and that the positive rehab progressions of Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt continue. Because depth can evaporate quickly when it comes to pitching. 

The Braves have lost three starters since the outset of spring training — Joey Wentz (knee) for the season and Spencer Schwellenbach (elbow) and Hurston Waldrep (elbow) for at least half a season. This from a rotation that already had lots of injury-history concerns with ace Chris Sale, Grant Holmes, Reynaldo López and Spencer Strider. 

PORT ST. LUCIE — Luke Weaver is less than thrilled by the perception that his 2025 performance was a regression from his 2024 breakout, when he received accolades for his work in the Yankees bullpen.

On the surface, his surge in ERA from 2.89 to 3.62 tells that story. But Weaver, who arrived to the Mets on a two-year contract worth $22 million, would argue he was just as dominant, if not better, last year.

Two September appearances, in a span of five days, brought havoc to his ERA. He allowed eight earned runs combined against the Tigers and Twins over two-thirds of an inning and suddenly a 2.81 ERA increased by more than a full run.

Such is the life of a reliever, on whom perceptions can change based on a bad outing or two. 

TAMPA — The last, but perhaps most anticipated, piece of the Yankees’ projected Opening Day rotation has finally joined the fold. 

Cam Schlittler, slowed earlier in camp by mid-back/left lat inflammation, made his spring debut Friday night, throwing 2 ¹/₃ scoreless innings against the Rays at Steinbrenner Field. 

As long as he continues to bounce back well the rest of the spring, the Yankees believe Schlittler can get built up to throw around 65-80 pitches in his regular-season debut. 

“We got a plan laid out, so I’m very confident that I’m going to be good to go that [first] weekend,” Schlittler said. 

The 25-year-old right-hander brought the heat from the jump, striking out the first batter he faced on three pitches, capped off with a 99.4 mph fastball.

That pitch averaged 98.7 mph across his 39 pitches, scattering two hits and one walk while striking out four. 

But the pitch that may have jumped out the most Friday was Schlittler’s cutter, which he used to strike out a pair of batters. The pitch peaked at 96.5 mph and averaged 94.9 mph, up noticeably from the 91.9 mph it averaged last season. 

“It’s nasty, too,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Couple of his live [batting practices], just standing behind him, it’s kind of wicked. I think if he can get the consistency on that downer curveball that he has, then if you want to count the cutter as the third fastball [along with a four-seam and two-seam], the three fastballs with the curveball, then he gets pretty tough to deal with.” 

Schlittler credited Gerrit Cole with having him split the cutter into two pitches before his final start of the regular season last year, focusing on a harder cutter that he predominantly threw up in the zone. 

“Continue to hopefully keep the velo and location as well,” he said. 

Schlittler has the potential to elevate the Yankees’ rotation this year if he can build off his 14-game cameo last season, when he was called up in July to replace the injured Clarke Schmidt and pitched to a 2.96 ERA the rest of the way. He was even better in the playoffs, delivering an historic performance against his hometown Red Sox in the clinching Game 3 of the AL wild-card series, striking out 12 across eight shutout innings. 

Boone said that Schlittler’s confidence, combined with his competitiveness, is what impressed him the most. 

“He comes up and he’s able to make adjustments without it being stressful,” Boone said. “He was just at ease right away, in the best kind of way.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Mets got a look into their potential near future on Thursday, when Jorge Polanco started at first base, with Brett Baty behind him in right field. 

Both players looked fine, but went largely untested in a 7-4 loss to the Nationals. 

They likely won’t be as fortunate when the regular season comes and more unpredictable plays develop. 

Baty and Polanco are doing what they can to be as prepared as possible. 

Baty, who played the outfield — but only left — in the minors, is still adjusting to balls moving in the opposite direction of what he’s used to seeing when he’s on the left side of the field.

He agreed with manager Carlos Mendoza’s decision to keep him on the right side of the diamond for the foreseeable future, either at first base or in right field. 

“When he mentioned it, I didn’t even think about it, but it’s a good plan,’’ Baty said. “It makes sense.” 

And though Baty and Polanco said they were growing more comfortable at their new positions, they acknowledge it’s too early to say just how good they’ll be once Opening Day hits in three weeks. 

But the fact that they are both learning first base — along with Mark Vientos, who is away from the team and playing third base for Team Nicaragua in the World Baseball Classic — has helped. 

“There’s no ego with him,’’ Baty said of Polanco, primarily a middle infielder during his lengthy MLB career. “He wants to play, and he’ll play wherever. We’re both bouncing ideas off each other, working on our footwork. It’s good to have both [of] us there working — and Mark, too, when he was here.” 

Polanco, who made a smooth play on a sharp grounder from Keibert Ruiz in the third inning, taking the ball himself, said he’s also feeling more comfortable at first base. 

“He’s engaged with the dugout and the movement from batter-to-batter [and] pitch-to-pitch,’’ Mendoza said. 

Some scouts remain skeptical that the Mets’ rotating group of players will be successful. 

In addition to Polanco, Baty and Vientos, there’s Bo Bichette moving from shortstop to third base. 

Bichette made a high throw to first after a nice stop and has said he’s growing more accustomed to the hot corner after a few weeks of work. 

But the reason the Mets want them to make adjustments in the field is because they want them in the lineup. 

Bichette had two hits and Baty hit an opposite-field homer. 

“It was good to see him drive the ball the other way,’’ Mendoza said of Baty’s blast.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Yankees have a new secret weapon against Garrett Crochet.

In the Grapefruit League, at least.

George Lombard Jr. took the Red Sox ace deep to lead off Wednesday’s exhibition, then drilled a single off him in his second at-bat for two of the three hits Crochet allowed.

“It’s always good getting to face the elite guys in the league,” Lombard said. “I was excited for it. Looking for something to hit, not trying to do too much with it and put a good swing on it.”


Lombard has already turned in a standout spring defensively, making highlight-reel plays at shortstop, third base and second base.

But he has also flashed his offensive potential with plenty of hard-hit balls like Wednesday, with his OPS now up to 1.196 through six games.

Crochet, the big lefty who most recently shut down the Yankees in a dominant start in Game 1 of the AL wild-card series last October, threw a 97 mph fastball at the top of the zone on a 1-2 count to Lombard to lead off the game.

The top prospect had no trouble catching up to it, clobbering it over everything (including the Green Monster replica) in left field for a 392-foot homer that came off the bat at 104.2 mph.

Then in the third inning, Lombard roped a 108.5 mph bullet that got past shortstop Trevor Story for a single.

TAMPA — Ryan McMahon is entering his 10th season in the majors. He spent five-plus years in the minors.

In that time, he’s played a total of 9,451 innings at third base, nearly 2,182 innings at second base and 1,845 innings at first base.

And only a few more than you at shortstop.

With Aaron Boone eyeing his third baseman for the backup shortstop role to start the season, McMahon got much-needed reps at the position during the Yankees’ 11-1 exhibition win over Panama, but displayed the need for more while flubbing a relatively straightforward grounder.

With José Caballero set to start the season at shortstop — and Anthony Volpe still recovering from shoulder surgery — McMahon could provide the Yankees with roster flexibility as the backup. But before Tuesday, McMahon had only played three innings at shortstop as a pro, coming in 2020.

“It feels, it looks so much different for me,” said McMahon, who was pulled after five innings. “There’s a lot more space. I think I gained a little bit more respect for what these shortstops have to deal with on a daily basis. But it was fun getting out there. I botched one, but I feel like if I see that one a couple more times that would be no problem.

“I feel pretty comfortable out there. I think of myself as a baseball player. I think if I just take some more reps I’ll be able to handle it. I think I’ll get better at it.”

McMahon, who has received five consecutive Gold Glove nominations at third base, turned an inning-ending double play in the first, but fumbled a chance to end the fourth when he bobbled a grounder toward the middle. He then recovered to handle another opportunity in the fifth.

“It’s just getting reads off the bat,” said McMahon, who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run. “The angles are different. You get so used to seeing it from the spot you’ve been at. You just step into a different area and I think that’s something reps can definitely fix. 

“It’s baseball … Just getting it to where it’s second nature. At third base I don’t think about it, I just do it.”

Boone plans to have McMahon, 31, work exclusively at shortstop Wednesday, then put him back there for Thursday’s spring training game against the Twins.

“It was good to get him out there,” Boone said. “The error kind of took a bad hop on him, although it’s one he’s probably gotta attack if you read it perfectly or you can give a little more ground, especially with his arm, and put yourself in a better position to handle that hop. But watching him in pregame on the back field, he looks really good there. I definitely think he can handle it. Obviously the arm really plays. He’s just so natural picking up a ground ball.”