NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt likely needs a second Tommy John surgery that would sideline him for the remainder of this season and much of next year, a huge blow to New York’s injury-riddled rotation.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone made the announcement Saturday, acknowledging the injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in Schmidt’s right elbow.
“We’re making sure we have all the opinions,” Boone said, “but I think it’s pretty much inevitable.”
Schmidt had an MRI on Friday and was placed on the 15-day injured list because of right forearm soreness, one day after his start in Toronto was cut short following three innings.
The 29-year-old right-hander, who had Tommy John surgery 8 years ago, is 4-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts this season for a scuffling Yankees club that had lost five consecutive games.
“He’s become a really, really good starting pitcher in this league. So, it’s a tough blow,” Boone said. “Every team has their share of these things that happen and we’ve got to be able to absorb it and hopefully get some guys back in the mix soon and create another opportunity for somebody else to hopefully step in and pick up the slack.”
Cam Schlittler, a 24-year-old right-hander, could be the immediate short-term replacement. He is 2-1 with a 3.80 ERA in five starts with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre since he was promoted from Double-A Somerset on June 3.
“We’ll make that call next week,” Boone said before his team’s Subway Series game against the New York Mets at Citi Field. “Obviously, we’ll have to insert somebody. So we’re kind of working through that.”
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will miss the entire season following Tommy John surgery.
Right-hander Luis Gil, sidelined since straining his right lat during spring training, will throw either a third batting practice session Tuesday or Wednesday, or begin a minor league rehab assignment. The reigning AL Rookie of the Year threw to hitters on June 21 for the first time since getting hurt.
Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, out since June 20 because of a right oblique strain, is feeling better and should resume throwing pretty soon, Boone said.
Right-hander Yerry de los Santos (elbow discomfort) threw a bullpen Saturday and his buildup is progressing.
Schmidt had Tommy John surgery in May 2017, a month before the Yankees selected him with the 16th overall pick in the amateur draft from South Carolina.
Now in his sixth major league season, he said he’d been dealing with soreness in his arm since his June 4 outing against Cleveland.
Schmidt left a June 21 start versus Baltimore after a career-high 103 pitches in seven hitless innings, part of a streak of 28 1/3 scoreless innings.
“When I talked to him a couple hours ago, he was in pretty good spirits,” Boone said. “Like, it is what it is. Unfortunate. In a lot of ways obviously, devastated and bummed out. But Clarke’s way is you’ve got to flip the script and he’s getting his mind into, let’s get it fixed and get on with it and start to get after the rehab portion of it. So I think mentally that’s where he’s at.”
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