The New York Yankees have been hit by a wave of injuries this spring. They have already lost Giancarlo Stanton, the World Series home run hero, indefinitely due to pain in both elbows, as well as a lingering calf injury. But the real damage has been to the Yankees’ pitching staff, which went into Sunday without two of the team’s top three starters in the rotation.
On Sunday, the team learned that a third starter, who had an outstanding season last year with a 2.85 ERA in 16 starts, will miss Monday’s spring opener due to what manager Aaron Boone described as shoulder soreness.
Clarke Schmidt also with shoulder discomfort
Clarke Schmidt, a 29-year-old right-hander, was a first-round draft pick, 16th overall, out of South Carolina in 2017. He was scheduled to hold down the back end of the Yankees’ rotation, although his importance increased after two other crucial injuries to the Bronx Bombers starters
Gerrit Cole, who is entering the sixth season of a record nine-year, $324 million contract with the team, will miss the entire campaign after winning the American League Cy Young Award just two years ago. Cole felt discomfort in his pitching elbow after his first spring training start and underwent Tommy John surgery on Tuesday.
American League Rookie of the Year in 2024, Luis Gil, with a stellar season of 15-7 and 177 strikeouts in 151 2/3 innings, will also be out for what will likely be at least the first month of the season due to an injury diagnosed as a right lat strain.
Gil was shut down on March 3 and will not be able to pitch for at least six weeks from that date, meaning he may not be ready to return to the mound for a few weeks. And while he was not selected for the starting rotation, the No. 2 pitching prospect, Chase Hampton, was expected to be available for at least some emergency starts with the big league club this year. However, Hampton underwent Tommy John surgery on Feb. 21, abruptly ending his season.
Yankees have become a hospital
As for Schmidt, the reported shoulder soreness is his second injury concern of the spring. In February, Boone said Schmidt’s throwing program was affected by a back issue. Now, less than two weeks from Opening Day, Schmidt’s availability to start the season as planned remains in doubt.
In his sixth season, Schmidt will receive $3.6 million from the Yankees this year.
However, according to veteran New York sports columnist Mike Lupica, the Yankees should take inspiration from the example of last year’s Los Angeles Dodgers, who won 98 games and the World Series (beating the Yankees) despite injuries to four different starting pitchers, including Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May, who missed the entire season.
Three-time National League Cy Young Award winner (and 10-time All-Star) Clayton Kershaw was limited to just seven starts, while $300 million Japanese import Yoshinobu Yamamoto made just 18 starts, winning just seven games for the Dodgers.
Read the full article here
