Clarke Schmidt’s path back into the Yankees’ rotation has already narrowed to the point of disappearing, and Sunday’s latest hiccup only tightened the squeeze.
The Yankees have spent September lining up their October pitching plans. Gerrit Cole is set for a Wild Card Series start, Cam Schlittler has pitched his way into that same conversation, and Max Fried is back in the rotation.
Carlos Rodón and Will Warren are being looked at for bullpen duty once the postseason starts. That leaves very little room for Schmidt, even before you get to the fact that he was coming back from a second Tommy John surgery.
His return was never built around stretching out like a regular starter over the final two weeks. The Yankees activated him Sept. 16 to give them innings, strike throwing and a starter’s mix out of the bullpen. He had not pitched in the majors since July 3, 2025, and had only seven minor league innings on his rehab assignment.
Schmidt made his first big league appearance in 14 1/2 months that night in Minnesota, working two outs while giving up two bloop singles and striking out two. For the Yankees, the important part was less the line than the assignment: this was an audition for a different kind of role.
That role demands a reliever’s rhythm. No fixed start day.
No long runway before first pitch. Quick warmups, traffic, clean innings, and recovery on a shorter schedule.
The bullpen test took another turn Sunday in Arizona, and not the kind the Yankees wanted. Schmidt was warming for what would have been his second outing since surgery when he felt cramping in his right biceps during the Yankees’ 8-4 loss to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. He stopped throwing and never got into the game.
The Yankees said strength testing didn’t show a shoulder or elbow issue. Schmidt is expected to meet with a team doctor in New York, and no extra testing is planned for now.
Schmidt called it a precaution after the game and said he didn’t want to force anything so soon after surgery.
“Nothing structural, it was more precautionary,” Schmidt said. “Obviously given the circumstance, coming back from surgery, I don’t want to push through anything.
All the testing was fine, nothing with the shoulder, nothing with the elbow. It was more a cramping-type feeling.
I had nothing in catch play earlier today and in the previous days I’ve been feeling very strong. So just very, very minor, just precautionary.”
Aaron Boone said Schmidt couldn’t finish his warmup even after the initial checks.
“I’m hoping it’s not a big deal, but enough to have him not go into the game,” Boone said. “We’ll see what we have there.”
Tim Hill ended up pitching the sixth instead. The Yankees had taken a 4-1 lead on third-inning homers by Heliot Ramos, George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones, but Arizona answered with five runs in the fifth, capped by Nolan Arenado’s grand slam off Brent Headrick. Justin Martinez got the win, Headrick took the loss and there was no save.
The bigger issue for Schmidt is that the Yankees’ rotation picture has moved on without him. MLB’s current postseason projection has Cole, Schlittler and Fried as starters, with Schmidt, Rodón and Warren listed among the relief options.
Boone has already said Cole will start a potential Wild Card Series game, and Warren is lined up for one last regular-season start before heading to the bullpen. Schmidt’s shot at rejoining the rotation has become more theoretical than real.
He has the track record of a starter. According to MLB’s player records, 67 of his 97 career appearances have been starts. He owns a 3.82 ERA over 393 1/3 innings, and before the elbow issue ended his season, he posted a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts in 2025.
But the Yankees’ long-term structure doesn’t leave much open space. Public contract records show Cole and Rodón are signed through 2028, Fried through 2032, Schlittler has emerged as a frontline starter and Warren remains under club control. Schmidt is arbitration-eligible for 2027 and can become a free agent after that season.
So even if Sunday’s biceps issue turns out to be minor, the larger challenge hasn’t changed. Schmidt is no longer trying to build toward 90 pitches. He’s trying to prove he can warm up quickly, enter when asked and come back again on short rest.
That transition has already had a couple of awkward beats. Schmidt warmed late Saturday, but Boone went with Michael Fulmer in the ninth of a tie game.
Fulmer then gave up Pavin Smith’s walk-off two-run homer. On Sunday, Schmidt was on the verge of entering before the cramping stopped him.
The Yankees are 89-66, six games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East with seven games left, according to MLB standings. They’ve already clinched a postseason berth and hold the top AL wild-card spot. Their final week begins Tuesday at Yankee Stadium against the Rays.
If Schmidt is cleared, that stretch gives him a much simpler assignment: show the Yankees he can be trusted in the bullpen when October arrives.
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