New York Yankees pitcher Clark Schmidt will undergo his second Tommy John surgery, sidelining him for the remainder of this season and most of the next, manager Aaron Boone announced Thursday. Schmidt had the surgery on Friday, performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas. The 29-year-old right-handed pitcher becomes the second Yankee to require this operation, joining 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, who had surgery in March. Boone indicated the surgery became necessary after Schmidt reported an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow following his loss to the Mets on Saturday.
Schmidt underwent an MRI last Friday and was placed on the 15-day injured list due to forearm pain after a short three-inning start in Toronto. This season, Schmidt had a 4-4 record with a 3.32 ERA across 14 starts, having missed the first 17 games while recovering from right rotator cuff tendonitis. Boone praised Schmidt as a very effective starting pitcher, expressing the difficulty of this setback but the team’s need to adapt and look for new opportunities.
Schmidt’s first Tommy John surgery was in May 2017, just before the Yankees selected him 16th overall in the South Carolina amateur draft. Now in his sixth major league season, Schmidt shared he has been experiencing arm pain since his June 4 outing against Cleveland. On June 21, he exited a start against Baltimore after throwing a career-high 103 pitches over seven hitless innings, during a pitchless innings streak lasting 28 1/3 innings. Recently, Cam Schlitter pitched for Schmidt, delivering 5 1/3 innings with a fastball averaging 97.9 mph, including seven of the Yankees’ fastest pitches this season.
Fan Take: This news is a tough blow for Yankees fans, as Schmidt had been gaining momentum as a reliable starter. It highlights the ongoing physical toll on pitchers and the importance of depth in a rotation to sustain competitiveness over a demanding MLB season.
