Clarke Schmidt injury scare could derail Yankees' horribly flawed trade deadline

When Brian Cashman spoke to reporters after the Yankees' questionable (to say the least) trade deadline, he had his patented response queued up for everyone to rage against. At this point, we know it's intentional.

But he referred to the belief the Yankees have a championship-caliber team (sure about that?) and players returning from injury (Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Cody Bellinger, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt) are going to change the game when the time comes.

Too bad we generally don't know when that time is for most of those names. And the fact the Yankees thinned their pitching depth made the deadline even more frustrating. Was Cashman seriously just banking on this group remaining healthy for the rest of the year? Was he planning on no setbacks for currently injured players?

It took less than 24 hours for the front office's plans to show its cracks. Schmidt, who was scheduled for live batting practice on Aug. 4, had his session cut short because he was experiencing cramping in his forearm. He's currently making his way back from Tommy John surgery, the second of his career (the first dates back to the pre-draft process at South Carolina).

We're still waiting on an update there, but that timing is impeccable. This is why you don't bank on things simply "bouncing your way." You'd think the Yankees would've learned that by now as things haven't bounced their way since 2009.

Clarke Schmidt injury all of a sudden impacts Yankees' trade deadline

The plan, we can assume, was Schmidt slotting into the bullpen and giving the Yankees flexibility. It's a sound strategy, especially after the Yankees sent Camilo Doval, Jake Bird and Yovanny Cruz packing. Were those guys great? No. But they provided necessary depth to get through an entire season.

Still, though, Schmidt wasn't expected back until September. That means they needed another month of getting to the finish line with their current battered group before the right-hander could help out at all.

Now, we'll sit here waiting to hear what the update on Schmidt's injury situation is. If it delays him a week or two, that's significant. The only good news here would be "it's nothing", and we know that's not going to happen.

The baseball gods laugh in the face of rosters that manage their depth based on players returning from injuries or unrealized talent waiting to make an impact. That's why the Dodgers churn through 700 pitchers per year in order to best prepare themselves for October.

The only new aspect of the Yankees' stale approach? This might be the quickest backfire on a supposed plan we've ever seen.

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