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Jorge Castillo
NEW YORK — Clarke Schmidt is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on Saturday, ending the burgeoning right-hander’s season and delivering another severe setback to the club’s starting rotation.
An MRI exam on Friday revealed the ulnar collateral ligament in Schmidt’s right elbow was torn. Schmidt underwent the exam after exiting his start against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday after just three innings because of the discomfort. Boone said Schmidt is getting other opinions on the elbow, but surgery is “pretty much inevitable.”
It would be Schmidt’s second Tommy John surgery — he underwent the procedure in 2017 — and it would sideline him for most, if not all, of next season. The 29-year-old Schmidt, a first-round pick in 2017, had a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts this season.
“Not great news on that front, obviously,” Boone said before the Yankees took on the Mets at Citi Field. “So, we’ll see what goes on here in the next couple of days.”
After the game, Schmidt said he had been dealing with elbow soreness since his start on June 4, which delayed recovery between his next five outings. On Friday, Boone said the concern level had not reached a level high enough to warrant tests — Schmidt didn’t give up a run in 20 ⅔ innings over his next three starts, including a seven no-hit innings on June 21 — until the pain was too much to pitch through on Thursday.
“That’s part of being a pitcher in the league,” Boone said. “You’re going to have those days, those weeks when it’s a little bit of a struggle. It doesn’t always rise to jumping in the MRI.”
Schmidt is the fourth Yankees starter to land on the injured list this season. Ace right-hander Gerrit Cole underwent Tommy John surgery in March. Luis Gilthe reigning American League Rookie of the Year, hasn’t thrown a pitch this season because of a lat injury. Ryan Yarbrougha revelation after signing with the Yankees at the end of spring training, has been on the injured list since June 22 with a strained oblique.
Yarbrough has not begun playing catch. Gil recently started throwing to hitters and won’t join the Yankees’ rotation until later this month at the earliest. The Yankees for now will need to look elsewhere for Schmidt’s replacement for a start next week before the All-Star break.
The internal options include veterans Carlos Carrasco and Allan Winansboth of whom have started games for the Yankees this season, and 24-year-old prospect Cam Schlittler, who was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last month. Boone indicated veteran right-hander JT Brugerwhose 61 of 67 career appearances have been starts, will remain in the bullpen as the Yankees’ long man.
Beyond that, the Yankees are likely to scour the market before the July 31 trade deadline to bolster a rotation currently composed of Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Will Warren and Marcus Stroman.
“He’s become a really, really good starting pitcher in this league,” Boone said of Schmidt. “So ,it’s a tough blow. Every team has their share of these things that happen, and we’ve got to be able to absorb it and hopefully get some guys back in the mix soon and create another opportunity for somebody else to hopefully step in and pick up the slack.”
