Yankees fans might be forgetting bullpen weapon that could return for stretch run

Much of the injury-related discussion regarding the New York Yankees' pitching staff from the offseason through the beginning of actual game action has surrounded Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón. It made sense since both veterans were set to return in the early part of the season, with both making May debuts. But lost in that shuffle was another quality arm recovering from an elbow injury, Clarke Schmidt.

We haven't heard much about Schmidt's recovery following his July 11 Tommy John procedure, though last September we received the good news that the surgery went well. Schmidt had regained full range of motion in the elbow and was planning on playing catch over the offseason.

Now, we have another little nugget from Randy Miller of NJ.com, who is reporting that Schmidt has been throwing off a mound in Tampa and is on track for a September return. We're obviously a long way away from that, and while setbacks could happen, so too could an accelerated timeline like what happened with Cole.

Coming back in September would put Schmidt around 14 months from the original surgery date, well within the expected timeframe of 12-18 months. At that point, where he slots in will be an interesting debate.

Clarke Schmidt's projected return date could have him become secret bullpen weapon for Yankees

With Max Fried avoiding a severe elbow injury, New York's rotation should soon be at full strength. What that likely means is six starters for five spots. Assuming no future injuries, that means that one of Will Warren or Ryan Weathers goes to the bullpen.

The smart money would be on Weathers becoming the odd man out. That's not a slight against his performance, but rather a realistic look at his past innings totals and the obvious conclusion that his workload must be managed. In the event of an injury, he could then hopefully slide back in, even if he'd operate on a pitch count.

That means as long as the Yankees' starters are relatively healthy for the stretch run, there will be nowhere to slot Schmidt in the rotation. The bullpen would then end up being his home.

Logically, it makes sense. He'll likely have some early restrictions anyway, and we all know that the Yankees could use the help. With the way the relief corps has performed, the club is likely looking at needing to add at least two reliable medium-to-high-leverage arms at the deadline.

Schmidt can mitigate that need. His style is similar to that of Michael King, who had incredible success in a multi-inning role before transitioning to starting full-time. It's not unreasonable to imagine Schmidt doing the same.

The 30-year-old does have some experience working in relief scattered throughout his career. In total, he's tallied 51 innings out of the bullpen, with a 3.18 ERA and .294 wOBA against, both of which are better than his 3.92 ERA and .313 wOBA against as a starter.

Combined with Weathers (or Warren), the bullpen question could be mostly solved down the stretch, allowing the Yankees to focus on other pressing needs, like solutions at third base and catcher, where incumbents Ryan McMahon and Austin Wells have been severely disappointing.

A lot of conditions need to be met for this to actually come to fruition, so don't bank on anything just yet. With that said, it's something to keep in mind as Schmidt hopes to work his way back without any issues.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow