The Yankees are expected to bring Clarke Schmidt back from the 60-day injured list before Wednesday’s series finale in Minnesota, according to manager Aaron Boone, who spoke to Gary Phillips of The New York Daily News.
To make room, New York sent Bradley Hanner to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday night and will need one more move on Wednesday to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. One possible path is moving Fernando Cruz, who has a partially torn UCL, to the 60-day injured list.
The Yankees also could go another route and designate someone for assignment. Last week, when Aaron Judge returned, the club chose to expose Chase Hampton to waivers rather than shut Cruz down for the season.
Angel Chivilli is another name in the mix, since he has been on the Triple-A injured list for a month and could be recalled and placed on the MLB IL.
For Schmidt, the timing gives him about a week and a half to make his case for a postseason bullpen role. It will be his first big league appearance since Tommy John surgery in June 2025.
He’s logged five rehab outings split between the top two minor league levels, working in 1-2 inning relief stints. In Triple-A, his four-seam fastball sat at 94.1 mph, which matched his pre-injury velocity.
There isn’t enough runway left for Schmidt to build back up as a starter this season, but that remains the role the Yankees appear to have in mind for him in 2027. Before the injury, the former first-round pick settled in as a mid-rotation starter from 2023-25, posting a 3.85 ERA over 323 innings with slightly above-average strikeout and walk numbers.
New York’s bullpen is strong overall, but a few middle-relief jobs are still unsettled heading into October. David Bednar, Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn are the club’s top options at the back end. John Schreiber and Michael Fulmer, both late-season additions, are in the mix for middle innings work along with left-handers Tim Hill and Ryan Yarbrough.
In Other News...
Red Sox Could Force A Yankees Wild Card Adjustment
Bostons postseason planning has already started to take shape, and one of the more intriguing ideas involves adding Braiden Ward to the mix as a late-game speed threat. The 27-year-old outfielder has built a reputation around his ability to steal bases in the minors, and interim manager Chad Tracy has acknowledged that side of his game while stopping short of saying anything is settled.
For the Yankees, the possibility matters because the Red Sox are expected to meet them in a Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium. A bench player who can change a game with his legs can alter how a team handles the late innings, from pitch selection to defensive positioning, and New York may need to account for that wrinkle if Boston decides Ward is worth carrying into October. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Volpe Is Making The Yankees Ask One Frustrating Question
Anthony Volpes brief stretch at second base has given the Yankees a fresh look at a move they waited too long to make. Since Jazz Chisholm Jr. landed on the injured list, Volpe has handled the new position in four games without an error, and the early returns have suggested the glove might play anywhere the club needs it. For a team always trying to squeeze more value out of its infield, that kind of smooth transition is hard to ignore.
What makes it frustrating is the timing. The Yankees have spent so much of Volpes young career treating shortstop as the only destination that they may have delayed a change that could have helped both him and the roster sooner. His defensive fit at second base is now in plain view, which leaves the bigger question hanging: whether this is just a temporary patch or the start of a shift that could reshape his path in New York. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Suddenly Have A Real Luis Garcia Jr. October Question
Luis Garcia Jr. arrived on Aug. 3 as the kind of move contenders make when they want another left-handed power bat for the stretch run, and he has done more than just fit in. Since settling in at first base, he has been a steadier defender while also producing at the plate, giving the Yankees a useful mix of offense and reliability at a spot that can quietly swing October games.
The bigger question now is whether Garcias work at first base can hold up under postseason pressure. Former manager Joe Girardi and broadcaster Michael Kay have both praised the defensive adjustment, but October has a way of testing every new wrinkle, and the Yankees suddenly have to decide how much trust to place in a player whose recent surge has made him a far more important part of the roster than anyone expected when he arrived. [Read more 🡒]