The New York Yankees will welcome right-hander Clarke Schmidt back to their rotation on Wednesday night, when he makes his season debut against the Kansas City Royals (NYY +130; KCR -155; over/under 1.5, per DraftKings). Schmidt had missed the onset of the season because of right rotator cuff tendinitis.
“I feel good,” Schmidt told the New York Daily news over the weekend. “I feel like my last two [rehab] starts have been productive down there in Somerset. Happy with the results and the stuff and the command and everything that goes with it.”
The Yankees have already cleared a roster spot ahead of Schmidt’s arrival, optioning right-hander Allan Winans to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday night.
Schmidt, 29, is embarking on his third full season as a starter. In his first two, he tallied a 4.02 ERA (106 ERA+) and a 3.18 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 49 games (48 of them opening assignments). His contributions have been worth an estimated 2.6 Wins Above Replacement, according to the calculations housed at Baseball Reference.
Schmidt will join a Yankees rotation that could use the boost. New York lost ace Gerrit Cole for the season back in the spring. Fellow right-handers Luis Gil, Marcus Stroman, and JT Brubaker are also on the shelf at this time, testing the Yankees’ rotation depth right out of the gates. Gil, for his part, had his throwing program pushed back more than a week after a recent MRI.
Although the Yankees, 10-7 to date, still find themselves atop the American League East, it’s fair to write that the starting five has given them reason for concern. The Yankees have thus far notched just two quality starts in their first 17 attempts. Both of those were recorded by free-agent signing Max Fried, who, with an altered arsenal, has been the bright spot in an otherwise dim situation.
Otherwise? It’s not hard to figure out why the Yankees rank 28th in rotation ERA:
Schmidt’s return should help. You have to imagine the Yankees will find a way to get more from at least one or two of the arms listed above, too. (Warren, for instance, continues to have his arsenal grade well in the eyes of the pitch-quality models.) Beyond that, it seems clear that the Yankees — along with basically every other contender — will spend the summer trying to find more pitching.
