The New York Yankees have been slammed by an injury scourge this spring. They have already lost World Series home run hero Giancarlo Stanton for an indefinite period due to pain in both of his elbows, as well as a nagging calf injury. But the real damage has hit the Yankees pitching staff, which came into Sunday down two of the team’s top three rotation starters.
On Sunday, the team learned that a third starter, one who had a breakout season last season by posting a 2.85 ERA in 16 starts, will miss a spring start on Monday with what manager Aaron Boone said was shoulder soreness.
Clarke Schmidt, a 29-year-old righty who was drafted in the first round, 16th overall, out of South Carolina in 2017, was slated to hold down the back end of the Yankees rotation – though his importance was elevated after two other crucial injuries to Yankees starters.
Gerrit Cole, entering the sixth season of a team-record nine-year, $324 million contract, will now miss the entire campaign after winning the American League Cy Young Award just two years ago. Cole felt discomfort in his pitching elbow after his first spring training start and on Tuesday underwent Tommy John surgery.
Luis Gil, the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year with his stellar, 15-7 season in 2024 with 177 strikeouts in 151 2/3 innings, is also sidelined for what will likely be at least the first month of the season with an injury diagnosed as a high-grade right lat strain. Gil was shut down on March 3, and will not be able to throw at all for at least six weeks from that date, meaning he may not be ready to return to the mound for another few weeks after that.
And while he was not tabbed for the starting rotation, No. 2 pitching prospect Chase Hampton was expected to be available for at least some emergency starts with the big league club this year. But Hampton had Tommy John surgery on Feb. 21, bringing his season to a sudden end.
As for Schmidt, the reported shoulder soreness is his second injury worry of the spring. In February, Boone said Schmidt’s throwing program was slowed by a “cranky” back. Now, with less than two weeks to go before opening day, Schmidt’s availability to start the season on schedule remains in doubt.
Entering his sixth season, Schmidt is due to be paid $3.6 million by the Yankees this year.
However, according to longtime New York sports columnist Mike Lupica, the Yankees should take heart from last year’s Los Angeles Dodgers, who won 98 games and the World Series – beating the Yankees – despite injuries to four different starting pitchers, including Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May, who each missed the entire season.
Three-time NL Cy Young winner (and 10-time All-Star) Clayton Kershaw was limited to just seven starts, while $300 million Japanese import Yoshinobu Yamamoto made only 18 starts, winning just seven games for the Dodgers.
