Clarke Schmidt Placed on Injured List Due to Right Lat Strain
New York Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right lat strain . The move is retroactive to Monday, and Schmidt will not throw for four to six weeks, with another four to six weeks needed to build himself up before returning to the rotation.
*Schmidt’s Performance*
Schmidt is 5-3 with a 2.52 ERA and has been part of the starting staff’s MLB-record run to 16 straight games in which they have gone at least five innings and allowed two runs or fewer.
*Injury History*
Schmidt has been stalled by injuries earlier in his career, but was starting to come into his own in 2024. In 11 starts, the 28-year-old went 5-3 with a 2.52 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 67 strikeouts across 60 innings.
The Yankees will have to figure out who is going to fill-in for Schmidt in the interim. Veteran hurler Luke Weaver has been more than solid in a long relief role this season, posting a 2.91 ERA in 34 innings. However, he has not thrown more than two innings in an appearance in the regular season, so he would need to be stretched out in order to join the rotation.
Gerrit Cole, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, has not pitched in a regular season game this year due to an elbow injury. Luckily, he is inching towards a rehab assignment after throwing 43-pitches on Thursday down in Tampa. Cole could make his first rehab start as soon as this coming week.
