Yankees breakout starter Clarke Schmidt lands on IL; how can New York fill his rotation spot?

By ERA and WAR, the New York Yankees had one of the best rotations in baseball this season although reigning AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole has yet to throw a pitch. Cole suffered nerve inflammation in his elbow during spring training and is returning. Without him, the rotation has been as good as the Yankees could hope for.

New York’s depth will now be tested. Righty Clarke Schmidt was placed on the 15-day injured list on Thursday with a right back strain, the Yankees announced. Schmidt last pitched on Sunday and later said it was “one of those outings where you don’t feel like you’re at your best.” according to the New York Post. Coach Aaron Boone said Schmidt will not play for 4 to 6 weeks, by Newsday.

Schmidt, 28, was enjoying a great season before the injury. He threw 60 2/3 innings in his 11 starts with a 2.52 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Opponents had a .224/.304/.356 batting line against him and Schmidt has one of the highest annual strikeout rate increases in baseball. The 2017 first-round pick has begun to deliver on his promise.

O Baseball Prospect Recovery Panel says late strains can sideline pitchers from 15 days to the entire season, which isn’t especially helpful. Former Yankee Luis Severino missed approximately two months with later strains in 2022 and 2023. The 4-6 week layoff suggests Schmidt, who set a new career high with 66 innings in 2023, will miss at least two months.

Cole is throwing to hitters as part of his rehab work, although he has yet to begin an official minor league rehab assignment. This could happen as early as next week. Regardless, he is several weeks away from returning to the rotation. New York’s rotation depth chart looks like this right now:

1. RHP Gerrit Cole (with inflammation of the nerve in the elbow)
2. RHP Luís Gil
3. LHP Carlos Rodón
4. RHP Marcus Stroman
5. LHP Nestor Cortes
6. Clarke Schmidt (out with last voltage)
7. RHP Cody Poteet (on the Triple-A injured list)
8. RHP Clayton Beeter (on the Triple-A injured list)
9. RHP Will Warren
10. RHP Yoendrys Gómez

Cortes, Gil, Rodón, Schmidt and Stroman combined to start 56 of 57 games. Poteet had a missed start in April and that was because of rain and a double start, not because anyone was injured or needed to be replaced for performance reasons. Even with Cole out, the Yankees were in very good pitching health before Schmidt’s injury.

Schmidt was scheduled to start Saturday and Warren, New York’s best healthy pitcher, lines up perfectly to start. He’s been on a terrible run in Triple-A lately — 31 runs in his last four starts and 17 innings — even though the Yankees don’t have many other options. Gómez was fired last Monday and cannot be recalled until he spends 15 days in juvenile detention.

Cole is still several weeks away — he will need several rehab games in the minor leagues — and the Yankees will have to figure out how to bridge the gap between Schmidt’s injury and Cole’s return. Their starting rotation has been excellent overall this season, but their depth is being tested right now.

The Yankees enter play Thursday atop the AL East with a 38-19 record. They are allowing just 3.14 runs per game, by far the fewest in baseball. The Kansas City Royals are a distant second with 3.42 runs allowed per game.