Jazz Chisholm is already on the New York Yankees' IL due to an oblique injury. Now Clarke Schmidt is having his most Saturday start pushed back due to a left flank injury. At this rate, manager Aaron Boone is going to be fed up with side injuries before the All Star break.
The silver lining for the Yankees is that Schmidt's injury does not seem to be as serious as Chisholm's ailment, which is expected to sideline him four-to-six weeks. MLB.com's Bryan Hoch reports that the right-hander could have made his start on Saturday but will now pitch on Tuesday. Exercising a small measure of caution makes a lot of sense for a Yankees' pitching staff that's already short two starters due to injury. Gerrit Cole will miss the entire season while Luis Gil is set to come back sometime in June or July.
Clarke Schmidt told reporters he is dealing with left flank soreness; he told the Yankees he could start today, but they have decided to push him back to Tuesday.
ā Bryan Hoch ā¾ļø (@BryanHoch) May 3, 2025
Clarke Schmidt scratched from Saturday start due to 'flank' injury
It's still a bit concerning that Schmidt is still experiencing discomfort in his side after missing the start of the season with rotator cuff tendinitis. The organization desperately needs him to stay healthy to stabilize the back end of a rotation that currently lacks quality depth.
The 29-year-old has only made three starts this year but is coming off his best outing. He pitched five innings against the Rays on Apr. 27, giving up only one run in a no-decision. Striking out six batters against Tampa Bay gave New York officials optimism that he was starting to hit his stride.
Boone and his coaching staff will hope that Schmidt can pick up where he left off despite having his start pushed back a couple of days. If he comes out and has good stuff again on Tuesday then this minor injury will quickly disappear into the rearview mirror. If, on the other hand, he can't find his best stuff next week then it might be time for more concern in the Bronx.
It's too early to panic about Schmidt's latest ailment but the Yankees cannot afford to lose him for any significicant period of time. Losing Cole and Gil already leaves the team short of high-quality arms in their rotation. If Schmidt goes down it might force GM Brian Cashman and his staff to look outside the organization for help. It's a situation worth monitoring over the next week.