ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Yankees got a useful jolt from Clarke Schmidt’s first rehab outing, but they still don’t have the part of the bullpen puzzle they’re really chasing.
That’s been the story of New York’s late-summer relief hunt: some arms are back, some are hurt, and the picture still isn’t clean. Fernando Cruz is on the injured list with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, with season-ending surgery still under consideration.
Ryan Weathers is also sidelined by a flexor strain. John Schreiber arrived on waivers, and Luis Gil is available again, but Aaron Boone is still trying to map out what his October bullpen would look like if the season ended today.
Tuesday’s 7-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels showed both sides of that reality. Gerrit Cole went 5 1/3 innings, then Brent Headrick, Paul Blackburn and Schreiber handled the final 3 2/3 at Angel Stadium.
Cole got the win, Grayson Rodriguez took the loss, and the Yankees moved to 79-60. They stayed 4.5 games back of Tampa Bay in the AL East and four games ahead of Boston for the top American League wild-card spot.
The club does have David Bednar at the back end and a few helpful options around him. What it still lacks is a dependable bridge through every high-leverage inning. In October, that missing middle matters.
Schmidt could eventually help solve it. The right-hander is being prepared for a relief role after spending the previous three seasons mostly as a starter, and the Yankees are trying to see whether his rebuilt arm can handle the kind of short-burst work a postseason bullpen demands.
His first test came Saturday for Double-A Somerset, his first game action in more than a year. Schmidt threw 20 pitches, 16 for strikes, allowed two hits and two runs in two-thirds of an inning, walked none and struck out two. One of the hits was a two-run homer.
Boone liked what he saw.
“I thought he looked pretty good the other day,” Boone said. “He gave up two runs, and gave up a home run, but he looked good, and his live [bullpen session] looked really good too. I’m encouraged where Clarke’s at.”
That encouragement comes with a catch: Schmidt is still a ways from being an actual option. Boone said he needs “at least a couple, a few more” rehab outings before he can rejoin the Yankees, and Schmidt was scheduled to make his second rehab appearance Wednesday night.
The Yankees also aren’t building him like a traditional starter. They are not trying to stretch him toward 90 pitches, and Schmidt has said even 65 or 75 pitches is unrealistic this late in the season. The plan is more likely one or two innings at a time.
Boone said the real evaluation is how Schmidt responds to the different rhythm of bullpen work.
“(It’s) how you’re responding to that kind of different workload, where it’s shorter bursts, where you’re building up density,” Boone said. “It’s pitch (then) day off (then) pitch again. Those kind of things that are a little bit different, especially for a guy that’s mainly been a starter most of his life.”
Schmidt does have some relief history. In 2022, he made 26 relief appearances and three starts, going 5-5 with a 3.12 ERA. But that was before three seasons as a starter and before a second major elbow surgery, so the Yankees still need proof that the current version can handle the job.
Time is part of the test, too. The Yankees entered Wednesday with 23 regular-season games left, and the schedule ends Sept.
- Schmidt needs multiple rehab outings before activation, then enough major league work for Boone to figure out whether he can be trusted in October.
That means two clocks are running at once: Schmidt has to show he can pitch, recover, and pitch again without a setback, while the Yankees need enough information to decide exactly how he fits.
“Given the timing, it’s not like I’m like ‘I should be starting’ and banging on the table,” Schmidt said. “I know it’s unrealistic to get to 65 (or) 75 pitches . . .
I’m excited to compete. I just want to get back out on the mound and pitch.”
Boone said last week that Schmidt has “a real chance to be a real factor for us in the ’pen.” A healthy Schmidt would give the Yankees a right-hander who could cover more than one inning, and Schmidt said he believes relief could let him go right at hitters instead of pacing himself for multiple trips through a lineup.
He also said he wants the pressure innings, and believes he has the strike-throwing ability and mentality to handle them.
That’s exactly the kind of arm the Yankees are still trying to find. The first rehab outing gave them a reason to be optimistic. It did not give them the answer yet.
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