QUEENS, NY — Tommy John surgery is “inevitable” for New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt, manager Aaron Boone disclosed on Saturday at Citi Field, shortly before the middle game of the Subway Series against the Mets.
“He’s kind of getting second opinions and things now, but yeah, not great news on that front,” Boone said. “We’ll see what goes on here the next couple days.”
Schmidt landed on the 15-day injured list after he felt discomfort in his forearm during his start on Thursday in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Subsequent imaging showed that it was his UCL that sustained damage.
This will be the second time in the 29-year-old’s career that he will undergo Tommy John surgery, first doing so in 2017.
“He was in pretty good spirits,” Boone said, who mentioned that Schmidt is still with the team in Queens. “It is what it is, unfortunately. In a lot of ways, devestated, bummed out, but Clarke’s way is you have 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.’ I think mentally, that’s where he’s at.”
Schmidt had previously dealt with right rotator cuff tendinitis, which forced him to start the 2025 season late. But since his debut on April 16, he had been a steady middle-of-the-rotation option in the Bronx.
In 14 starts, he was 4-4 with a 3.32 ERA, a career-best 1.093 WHIP, and 73 strikeouts in 78.2 innings pitched. Since the start of the 2024 season, he had an ERA of 3.07.
“He’s become a really, really good starting pitcher in this league,” Boone said. “It’s a tough blow… we gotta be able to absorb it and get some guys back in the mix soon and create another opportunity for somebody else to hopefully step in and pick up the slack.”
