Since Clarke Schmidt, the promising right-handed starter for the New York Yankees, went down with a serious right lat strain in late May, the team’s pitching rotation hasn’t been the same. The statistics illustrate the impact of his absence: the Yankees’ staff had a stellar 2.00 ERA in March, a 3.22 ERA in April, and a 2.37 ERA in May when Schmidt was active. However, their performance has declined with a 5.26 ERA in June, a 4.26 ERA in July, and a 3.98 ERA in August thus far. It’s clear they could use his presence every fifth day.
After an extensive rehab process, including several bullpen sessions and a strong first rehab start for the Somerset Patriots five days ago, Schmidt isn’t quite ready to return to the Yankees but is nearing that point.
Today, the Yankees announced via X that they have moved Schmidt’s rehab assignment from Double-A Somerset to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Schmidt was on track for a breakout season before his injury, with an impressive 2.52 ERA over 60.2 innings, 67 strikeouts, and only 20 walks, holding a 5-3 record when he was sidelined.
Following his recent outing where he allowed just one run (a solo homer), walked one, and struck out six in 3.2 innings for the Patriots, Schmidt has earned the chance to move up to Triple-A. He will likely need one or two more starts with the RailRiders before rejoining the Yankees. While he is undoubtedly among the top five starters on the roster, his return timeline remains uncertain and dependent on further developments.
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