The Yankees may have another arm on the horizon, and they could use it.
With the bullpen getting worn down and Tuesday night’s 9-7 loss to the Astros adding more strain, Clarke Schmidt is moving closer to a return. The right-hander, who is rehabbing from his second Tommy John surgery in July 2025, said after a live bullpen session at Yankee Stadium that he is eager to get back on the mound in the regular season and work out of the bullpen.
“It’s definitely gonna be nerve-wracking, but it’s gonna be exciting,” Schmidt told Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network. “It’s been a while since I’ve competed and been on a game mound, so I’m definitely itching.”
Schmidt threw to bench coach Brad Ausmus and other batters during the session, and he came away encouraged by how the ball was coming out.
“I thought [my stuff] was good,” he said. “...I was really happy with the shapes and the consistency of it.”
The next step, he said, is a rehab assignment in the minors before he rejoins the Yankees as a reliever. Schmidt described the plan as one built around innings and pitch counts, along with getting comfortable in game usage again.
“I think it’s more of an inning-allotment type deal and pitch-count type deal,” he said. “...And then also get used to the usages and get the pitch count up as much as we can.”
He added: “There’s definitely a plan in place.”
Asked directly whether he expects to return from the bullpen this season, Schmidt didn’t hesitate.
“Yes, 100%, I think that’s been my goal from Day One. I want to be able to compete this year. I want to get innings under my belt before a full season next year.
“And I want to back get out there in the regular season, especially before playoffs and things really start picking up. Get the ball rolling a little bit and get back out there as quick as I can, and obviously competing at the Major League level was my No. 1 goal this year....
“Today was a big step.”
The timing matters. The Yankees’ bullpen has already logged a 3.05 ERA this season, but it’s taking on more and more water in August. Tuesday was another rough night, with the pen blowing three different leads.
Fernandez Cruz was ineffective in that game and appears headed to the injured list, according to NJ.com’s Bob Klapisch.
If Schmidt keeps building up as expected, he could give the Yankees a needed boost in September.
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