Yankees’ Clarke Schmidt Placed on 15-Day IL With Lat Strain, Shut Down For 4-6 Weeks
While the New York Yankees are off to a terrific start this season, leading the American League with a 39-19 record, the Bronx Bombers must now carry on without right-handed starter Clarke Schmidt.
The 28-year-old hurler landed on the 15-day IL due to a right lat strain ahead of Thursday’s series finale against the Los Angeles Angels, retroactive to Monday. He isn’t expected to resume throwing for roughly four to six weeks, per manager Aaron Boone.
New York recalled right-hander Cody Morris from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as a corresponding move. The 27-year-old owns a 2.82 ERA and 32 strikeouts over 22.1 innings in 13 appearances (one start) at Triple-A this season.
The Yankees revealed Schmidt underwent an MRI on Wednesday, where imaging displayed the strain on his right side. Chances are he won’t return to the majors until after the All-Star break.
“It’s definitely devastating,” Schmidt told reporters post-game Thursday, including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. “I’m probably having the most fun I’ve ever had playing this game in my career. Not only having success, but the team’s winning, the pitching staff’s doing really well and it’s just fun being able to go out there and compete every five days with these guys.”
Though he received a crushing diagnosis, the Yankees starter remains optimistic he can begin throwing in as early as three weeks. In the meantime, Cody Poteet is expected to start Saturday versus the San Francisco Giants during Schmidt’s turn through the rotation.
It’s a significant loss for a starting staff that opened this season without ace Gerrit Cole, who’s currently on the 60-day IL while recovering from a right elbow injury.
“Obviously, Clarke has been one of the guys that has been pitching so well,” Boone said. “It stinks for him, but hopefully we’ll have him down and get him on the mend, and hopefully get him back at some point.”
Amidst a breakout performance, Schmidt has excelled to a 2.52 ERA and 3.48 FIP – both career bests – while punching out 67 batters and walking 20 in 11 starts this season. He owns a 5-3 record across 60.2 innings during his fifth big-league campaign.
The 16th overall selection made his most recent start in San Diego against the Padres last Sunday, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks despite striking out six over five innings. He’s completed at least five innings in all but one of his 11 outings thus far.
Schmidt is part of a red-hot Yankees rotation that ranks second in the majors in starter’s ERA (2.73) and limited opponents to two runs or fewer over at least five innings in 16 consecutive starts – a historic streak that ended Thursday after Carlos Rodón surrendered three runs in six-plus.
“It definitely came out of nowhere. My body’s been feeling amazing so far this year,” Schmidt said. “I definitely felt it early in the bullpen, but things pop up as a pitcher and as a player. You have small things that pop up throughout the season. Throughout the game, it was definitely there. But for me, it was one of those things where I felt like it was probably going to work itself out.”
One way New York could fill the void left by Schmidt is with Cole, who threw 43 pitches as part of a three-inning live BP session in Tampa, FL, on Thursday. If he continues to progress, the next step of his recovery program could include starting a rehab assignment.
It’s been over eight months since the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner has appeared in a game, not including spring training, where he made just one start before being shut down.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Jeffrey Hayes. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.