Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees' Clarke Schmidt Has Right Elbow Strain, Won't Be Ready For Opening Day

New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt has a strain in his right common extensor tendon. Schmidt will miss a month and won't be ready for Opening Day

Max Goodman

The Yankees haven't even had their first full-squad workout of the spring yet and the injuries have already begun.

Pitching prospect Clarke Schmidt, who made his big-league debut with the club last year, has a strain in his common extensor tendon, manager Aaron Boone revealed on Monday. The right-hander felt discomfort after his first bullpen session of the spring last week and an MRI on Friday revealed the diagnosis.

"It's on the other side of the elbow which I think in the big picture is a good thing," Boone said. "He's going to be shutdown for a few weeks going through range of motion things to make sure he's symptom free before he starts throwing again."

Boone added that Schmidt's strain is on the anterior side of the elbow, assuring that the ligament that would require Tommy John surgery is intact. That's good news considering Schmidt has already had Tommy John in his career, back when he was pitching at the University of South Carolina.

"It's kind of an uncommon, usually you don't hear pitchers getting that," Boone said. "It's akin to a tennis elbow or something ... they think that's probably a three-to-four week shutdown."

RELATED: Clarke Schmidt Is the Future of the Yankees' Rotation

Schmidt pitched in three games last season, posting a 7.11 ERA across 6.1 innings. Although he's projected to be a starting pitcher at this level, the right-hander made his debut in a relief role, throwing 1.1 innings on Sept. 4 in Baltimore. He's ranked as New York's No. 2 pitching prospect by MLB Pipeline.

The 25-year-old was poised to try and pitch his way into the starting rotation this spring, competing for the fifth spot in New York's rotation with fellow top prospect Deivi García and Domingo Germán (among others). Now, with just about a month to go until the regular season begins, he'll be out of contention for an Opening Day roster spot. 

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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