The Yankees are being cautious with Clarke Schmidt.
The right-hander was scratched from Saturday afternoon’s start against the Tampa Bay Rays after experiencing soreness on his left side, but Schmidt doesn’t believe it’s a serious issue.
He’s now scheduled to start Tuesday against the San Diego Padres instead.
“I’ve been throwing the whole week. I feel fine,” Schmidt said before Saturday’s game in the Bronx. “I left yesterday expecting to start today. They just felt like there was maneuverability, giving me an extra day down the line.”
Left-handed long reliever Ryan Yarbrough got the start Saturday in Schmidt’s place.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone learned of Schmidt’s soreness on Thursday, four days after the right-hander threw a season-high 90 pitches over five innings in last Sunday’s 5-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
“He had gone through and done his bullpen and all of his throwing program and it was fine, but he was just feeling sore,” Boone said Saturday.
“He actually got an MRI yesterday. Came back clean. Kind of stewed on it through the evening last night and then after the game I made the decision to push him back.”
Schmidt, 29, said with a smile that he advocated to pitch Saturday to no avail.
He does not believe the side soreness is related to the right rotator cuff tendinitis that cropped up during spring training and cost him the first three weeks of the regular season.
Schmidt is 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA through three starts and has ramped up his pitch count with each outing.
“Last time was my first time [reaching] 90 pitches, so as your workload builds, [there’s] more stress,” Schmidt said. “But I feel confident and comfortable with where I’m at.”
The Yankees’ bullpen was “fairly set up” for Saturday’s game after Max Fried hurled seven innings in Friday night’s 3-0 win over Tampa, Boone said.
Devin Williams threw eight pitches and Luke Weaver threw 11 to record the final six outs.
“That’s a huge part of the equation, too, [with Fried] being able to do that,” Boone said. “Then you’re not in a position to make a move or whatever it may be. That’s one of the really good things that Max has provided us so far.”
Schmidt went 5-5 with a 2.85 ERA during a breakout 2024 season, but a lat strain limited him to 16 starts.
He is one of several Yankees starters to deal with injuries this year, with Gerrit Cole out for the year after elbow surgery; Luis Gil sidelined until at least June with a lat strain; and Marcus Stroman on the 15-day injured list with left knee inflammation.
“It was definitely a relief [that the MRI was clean],” Boone said of Schmidt, “and we should be OK moving forward.”
