Yankees welcome back Clarke Schmidt, key reliever with confusing DFA

The Yankees entered their weekend series in Chicago with a number of familiar faces to welcome back. Both Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt were slated to start following their returns from the injured list, and the anticipation was that righty Ian Hamilton would be rejoining the active roster as well, following an impressive rehab stint interrupted by back spasms.

On Saturday afternoon, the Yankees completed their roster shuffling for the time being, bringing both Schmidt and Hamilton back to the active roster. Both righties will immediately compete for core roles in October. Hell, both men might be in the mix for closer reps.

With a few spare parts lingering in the bullpen, the Yankees demoted and DFA'd the anticipated corresponding pieces. Scott Effross went first (surprising), followed by Ron Marinaccio (not at all surprising) and Phil Bickford, who was DFA'd on Saturday morning.

New York still needed one more 40-man spot, though, as both Hamilton and Schmidt had been lingering on the long-term IL. Instead of DFAing struggling left-hander Tim Mayza and likely losing him forever, the Yankees instead chose to remove Nick Burdi from the roster entirely. Burdi was also rehabbing at Triple-A, but had been officially demoted to the level earlier in the summer. That leaves Lou Trivino and Cody Poteet as the only remaining "returning" pieces (unless Burdi clears waivers, which feels unlikely). If Trivino's rehab proceeds nicely, he'll likely get the eventual nod.

Yankees DFA Nick Burdi, Phil Bickford for Ian Hamilton, Clarke Schmidt

Marinaccio was "upset" the first time he was demoted this season back in May, and hasn't seemed to regain his sea legs since. This time, it probably went down smoother, considering the Yankees have made their feelings clear.

Burdi? The flamethrower posted a 1.86 ERA in 9 2/3 innings this season at the MLB level before suffering another frustrating injury complication. He struggled with command, but did show the ability to overpower big-league hitters with 12 strikeouts, something many of his bullpen compatriots have lacked all year. He's also struck out 19 men in 13 1/3 frames at Triple-A, most recently appearing and allowing a run on Sept. 6.