Blue Jays can twist knife in Yankees after devastating Clarke Schmidt injury

The New York Yankees were dealt another devastating injury blow on Saturday. Clarke Schmidt is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery to fix a UCL injury, per Aaron Boone. That ends his 2025 campaign and potentially impacts his 2026 season in a significant way.

Since the beginning of 2024, only one pitcher with a minimum of 150 innings pitched has a better ERA than Schmidt. His name is Tarik Skubal.

This is incredibly bad luck for a Yankees team that is already in a tailspin. Gerrit Cole's season ended before it started due to the same injury. Carlos Rodón and Max Fried continue to pitch lights-out, but New York's rotation is otherwise flimsy. It doesn't help that the offense has lost all ability to supply run support in recent weeks. Aaron Judge might win MVP, but the lineup around him is in shambles.

With the Yankees on the decline, first place now belongs to the Toronto Blue Jays, who already own a nice two-game lead in the division. Now Toronto has a chance to really drive a nail into the Yankees' coffin. New York is sure to scour the trade market for short-term rotation depth. What if Toronto one-ups them and adds one of the best pitchers available?

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Blue Jays should go all-in with Seth Lugo trade after Yankees' latest setback

Of the pitchers floating around in MLB trade rumors, few are more productive and dependable than Kansas City Royals ace Seth Lugo. The 35-year-old is on an expiring contract, so he's merely a rental, but Lugo would meaningfully change Toronto's outlook in a competitive division and a wide-open American League.

A former reliever turned impact starter, Lugo is posting career-best numbers after his first All-Star berth in 2024. He's got a 2.65 ERA and 1.09 WHIP through 16 starts, notching 83 strikeouts in 95.0 innings pitched.

While Lugo's under-the-hood metrics aren't particularly great and he doesn't blow hitters away with his velocity, the veteran righty gets a ton of value out of his myriad off-speed pitches. He keeps the hitter guessing with a deep arsenal and impeccable command. Some of the luck metrics are a bit worrisome — his 'expected ERA' is 4.42, per Baseball Savant — but the track record of production is incredibly strong. Lugo did the same thing last season and was excellent during the Royals' brief postseason run. He feels like a trustworthy third arm to install behind Kevin Guasman and José Berríos.

Can the Yankees also target Seth Lugo?

Well, yes. And it's probably the prudent move if Toronto shows interest. There will be plenty of quality arms made available at the deadline. Some will mount arguments for Zac Gallen or Merrill Kelly from Arizona, or Mitch Keller in Pittsburgh. Even an ascending Sandy Alcántara in Miami. But Lugo offers a measure of certainty that few will match.

There's a good chance the Blue Jays and Yankees both go out and add a significant arm. Last summer, Toronto was the seller, shipping Yusei Kikuchi to the Astros. Now the tables have turned and the Blue Jays are in a position to operate aggressively. Ross Atkins loves to tout the support of ownership and Toronto's ability to spend competitively. This is a prime opportunity to "flex that muscle," as Atkins likes to say.

Going into the season, it felt like the Yankees' division to lose. And well, they might just do it, opening the door wide for an aggressive Blue Jays front office to capitalize.