Clarke Schmidt injury shaping up to be another unfathomable Yankees situation

When the New York Yankees tried to casually slip in that Clarke Schmidt wouldn't be on the Opening Day roster, fans who closely followed the right-hander's injury history just knew it was going to be worse than the team was letting on.

Schmidt was dealing with back issues early in spring training and only logged 1 2/3 innings before being limited. In that one outing, he got knocked around for three earned runs on four hits and a walk. Toss this in with the early Marcus Stroman drama (thankfully that's resolved), Luis Gil's injury, and Gerrit Cole's season-ending Tommy John surgery, and it feels like the Yankees' rotation continues to descend into a more precarious situation each week.

About a week and a half ago it was said Schmidt would start April 3 against the Diamondbacks but would be remaining in Tampa to get more work in while the Yankees went north for their series against the Brewers. We can't say many believed he would go from having that limited of a spring to facing one of MLB's most prolific offenses to begin 2025. It just doesn't work like that.

And now we're here with more troubling news. Manager Aaron Boone says Schmidt will miss his scheduled Monday start vs the Blue Jays due to shoulder soreness. He will, however, throw a bullpen session, but it's hard to say anybody would be surprised if that gets pushed as well. A newfound shoulder issue seems like it should be a bit more serious than this.

Another frustrating layer here is that the Yankees have not scheduled any tests for Schmidt despite the right-hander feeling he's "not getting all the way back to how he normally would." Shouldn't there be a bit more caution exercised here after all that's happened?

Yankees Injury Update: Clarke Schmidt dealing with shoulder soreness

All anybody cares to know is why this keeps happening. Is it some of the worst sports luck on the planet? Or is it an oversight in the strength and conditioning/medical department? Is it simply because the Yankees have too many injury-prone players? We do not know, but it's a truly difficult concept to grasp as the deflating updates continue to pile up.

Not to mention, reliever Mark Leiter Jr., who is also reportedly dealing with a back injury, did not throw his scheduled batting practice on Sunday. Well, at least that's what was reported earlier that day. Just hours later, it was revealed Leiter Jr. "chose" to throw a bullpen session instead "with the season so close."

This comes after Leiter Jr. was scratched from his scheduled Thursday appearance against the Tigers.

Leiter Jr. is far less of a concern, as Schmidt missing the start of 2025 would officially give the Yankees an incomplete rotation. Right now, it's looking like it'll be Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman, Will Warren and Carlos Carrasco ... when it was supposed to be Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt/Marcus Stroman with Will Warren and Carlos Carrasco as emergency options.

Schmidt missed three and a half months in 2024, so it's getting harder and harder to project him into the Yankees' plans this year with each passing update. If this becomes another long-term absence, Brian Cashman truly may have no choice other than to swing a starting pitching trade before Opening Day.