The New York Yankees were already limping into the second half of the season. Now, they’ll find themselves yet another arm short as they try to stop the bleeding in the American League East.
Right-hander Clarke Schmidt will likely undergo Tommy John surgery, manager Aaron Boone announced Saturday, which would end Schmidt’s season and likely keep him shelved through most of 2026.
The elbow reconstruction is the Yankees’ second this year, following ace and reigning Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole going under the knife during spring training. And it comes with the Yankees having lost five in a row and 15 of their past 21.
That skid took them from a 4 ½-game lead in the East to two games behind the Toronto Blue Jays and tied for second with the Tampa Bay Rays. And it further weakens their rotation depth as they await the return of reigning Rookie of the Year Luis Gil, who has been out all season with a lat injury.
Gil could soon begin a rehab assignment and is expected to be back by the end of this month.
Schmidt, 29, wasn’t so fortunate. He’d been placed on the injured list with forearm discomfort before additional imaging revealed the likely need for major surgery. Schmidt was 4-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts this season, and was part of the Yankees’ playoff rotation last season as they reached the World Series for the first time since 2009.
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