The New York Yankees are missing Clarke Schmidt badly, and Schmidt is missing pitching as well.
But the Yanks got some good news about Schmidt’s recovery timeline, when the right-hander addressed reporters before New York’s 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.
Schmidt was 4-4 with a 3.56 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 14 starts this season. He is third among Yankees pitchers in bWAR (1.6), behind ace Max Fried and No. 2 starter Carlos Rodon, but he had Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL on July 11.
What Did Clarke Schmidt Say About His Recovery From Tommy John surgery?
Schmidt admitted he was caught off guard when he was recommended to have elbow surgery by surgeons less than a month ago.
â[I was] caught off guard at first, just hearing from the doctor. Didnât really expect it going into it,â Schmidt said Monday, according to the New York Post. âThen, just kind of trying to process that and the emotions. Very emotional at first.â
Still, according to the Post, things could have been much worse. Schmidt told reporters he did not need an entirely new ulnar-collateral ligament, since surgeons noticed the ligament was tearing off the bone and were able simply to reattach it.
That outcome will likely save Schmidt as much as seven months of recovery, meaning he should be able to return at some point in 2026 rather than missing that whole season too.
âTommy John, itâs kind of an umbrella term these days,â Schmidt said. âEverything that Iâve been informed of, itâs kind of the best case of Tommy John, so around a year [recovery], like 11 to 12 months.â
When Did Clark Schmidt Injure His Elbow?
What Schmidt did in June was especially remarkable since he claims he injured his elbow in late May in Anaheim.
Schmidt said his elbow began feeling sore after throwing six scoreless, four-hit innings in the Yankees’ 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium on May 28. He allowed three first-inning runs in his subsequent start at home but settled in to strike out eight, even though he took the loss in a 4-0 defeat to the Cleveland Guardians on June 3.
âThe Anaheim start on the road and going into the Cleveland start at home was when the soreness really started picking up,â he said.
That Schmidt will miss the remainder of the season, when he was finally figuring out how to pitch consistently in the majors was a major blow to both fans and the pitcher himself.
Schmidt was 5-5 with a sub-3 ERA in 2024. After opening the season with two subpar outings, Schmidt pitched to a 2.10 ERA over his next 10-start span, highlighted by his 28 1/3-inning scoreless streak in June, which set a Yankees record among pitchers in the expansion era (1961).
But success has brought out the bulldog in Schmidt, and he is committed to bouncing back as quickly as he can.
“Iâm going to do anything I possibly can to go back out there every five days,” he said. “Itâs hard to keep me off the field when Iâm having a lot of success.”
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