Rehab Assignment Dates Revealed For 2 Key New York Yankees' Reinforcements

The New York Yankees have some reinforcements making progress towards a return down the stretch of the regular season.

May 21, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt (36) delivers a pitch during the third inning against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees received some good news regarding a few key injured players.

On Wednesday, right-handed starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt (lat strain) told reporters that he expects to make his first rehab start on Friday, August 23 for the Double-A Somerset Patriots, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Schmidt is aiming to throw around 50 pitches in what will be his first live game action since May 26.

In addition to Schmidt, infielder Jon Berti (left calf strain) is also expected to begin a rehab assignment on Friday as well, via Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.

According to Hoch, the plan is for Schmidt, Berti, Ian Hamilton and Cody Poteet all to appear in rehab games this weekend with Somerset.

The Yankees have been hit hard with the injury bug, losing Luis Gil to a lower back strain on Tuesday and new third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. to a UCL sprain on August 12.

Depending on how many rehab starts Schmidt requires, he could rejoin the Yankees in the coming weeks to provide a major boost in their rotation.

Berti has been out since May 25 with a calf strain before suffering a setback last month, which further delayed his return. The Yankees had not gotten a lot of production out of the hot corner until Chisholm arrived. If Berti can come back in the near future, he could help stabilize the position, allowing Chisholm to showcase his versatility in other spots once he is ready to return himself.

As for Hamilton, the veteran reliever was having a down year (4.55 ERA, 29.2 innings) and was placed on the IL on June 17 with a right lat strain. But if he can recapture his 2023 form (2.64 ERA) it would be a tremendous uplift for a shaky Yankee bullpen.

Poteet was solid in four starts earlier in the season, posting a 2.14 ERA in 21 innings. The 30-year-old righty would give the Yankees some much-needed starting pitching depth down the stretch.