New York Yankees Lose Rising Star Pitcher to IL For Foreseeable Future

The New York Yankees have lost a key member of their dominant starting rotation to the injured list for the foreseeable future.

May 26, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt (36) throws a pitch in the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-USA TODAY Sports / David Frerker-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees' seemingly invincible armor has taken a significant hit.

On Thursday evening, the Yankees surprisingly placed right-handed starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain, retroactive to May 27, as the team announced.

As manager Aaron Boone told reporters, Schmidt will not throw for the next 4-6 weeks, which means he will be out longer than that as he will need another month or so to build his arm back up, as YES Network insider Jack Curry pointed out. This is a crushing blow for a Yankee rotation that is also missing their reigning AL Cy Young Award winning ace Gerrit Cole.

Cole has not pitched in a regular season game this year due to an elbow injury. Luckily, he is inching towards a rehab assignment after throwing 43-pitches on Thursday down in Tampa. Cole could make his first rehab start as soon as "this coming week," as Boone told reporters.

In the meantime, young arms like Schmidt and Luis Gil have emerged as rising stars behind veterans Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman and Nestor Cortes. Without Cole, the Yankees' rotation has shockingly posted a remarkable 2.69 ERA as a staff, which is the best mark in the AL and second-best total in baseball behind the Philadelphia Phillies. But now they will have to fill the void left by Schmidt until Cole returns.

With Schmidt out for the foreseeable future, the Yankees will have to figure out who is going to fill-in for the righty in the interim. Veteran hurler Luke Weaver has been more than solid in a long relief role this season, posting a 2.91 ERA in 34 innings. However, he has not thrown more than two innings in an appearance in the regular season, so he would need to be stretched out in order to join the rotation.

Schmidt, a first-round pick of the Yankees in the 2017 MLB Draft, was stalled by injuries earlier in his career, but was starting to come into his own in 2024. In 11 starts, the 28-year-old went 5-3 with a 2.52 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 67 strikeouts across 60 innings.

The Yankees will have to hope they can get Schmidt back for the stretch run later in the season, but he will at least be sidelined for the next few months or so. The urgency for Cole to rejoin the big-league club just got cranked up, however, they will have to wait a little while longer as he has yet to begin a rehab assignment. For now, the Yankees' dominant rotation will have to go on without Schmidt and continue to move forward without Cole until he is ready to come off the IL.