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Jorge CastilloMay 3, 2025, 12:15 PM ET
- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
NEW YORK — Right-hander Clarke Schmidt was scratched from his scheduled start for the New York Yankees on Saturday with soreness in his left side, leaving the club to give the ball to left-hander Ryan Yarbrough against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Schmidt is not expected to land on the injured list. Manager Aaron Boone said Schmidt had an MRI on Friday afternoon and it “came back clean.” Schmidt is slated to start against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.
“I told them I was good to go today,” Schmidt said. “I actually left the field [Friday] expecting to start today.”
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Schmidt said Max Fried‘s seven-inning outing Friday, which lightened the load for the bullpen and left it rested for Saturday, factored into the Yankees’ decision to play it safe with him.
“There was a little pushback, but I’m not the decision-maker here,” Schmidt, 29, said. “I go out there whenever they tell me to.”
Another factor was Schmidt’s recent injury history. A strained right lat limited the former first-round pick to 16 starts last season. He then began this season on the injured list right tendonitis in his right rotator cuff. Schmidt has given up nine runs in 14⅔ innings across three starts since being activated. He said the soreness is unrelated to his previous injuries.
“I think Clarke was just a little concerned, especially with just what he’s been through being a little behind and everything, having some minor things pop up,” Boone said. “So, yeah, it was definitely a relief and we should be OK moving forward.”
Schmidt isn’t the only Yankees starter to deal with injuries this season. Gerrit Cole underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery in March; Luis Gil is expected to be out until June with a high-grade lat strain; and Marcus Stroman was placed on the injured list with left knee inflammation nearly a month ago.
The Yankees entered Saturday 18th in the majors in starter ERA (4.06) despite Fried’s dominant start to the season (1.01 ERA in seven outings).
