Yankees Injury Update: Giancarlo Stanton, Clarke Schmidt, Allan Winans

The New York Yankees suffered their first loss of the season on Tuesday when, in all-too-familiar fashion, the bats inexplicably left the game in reach for their opponent and the bullpen completely melted down. It's not time to freak out, but it is wise to remember that this is going to happen rather frequently.

Still, the Yankees are waiting to get back to full strength after injuries decimated them during spring training. Giancarlo Stanton was the first of the bunch to go down, but it appears he's responding somewhat well to the treatment for his elbow injuries.

As of March 29, Stanton "resumed hitting indoors" after reporting improvement from the platelet-rich plasma injections he received. Not only that, but Yankees fans learned that the new "torpedo" bats may have been responsible for Stanton's injury woes.

That's right; Stanton used one of them in 2024, and that's what may have been referred to when he said "bat adjustments" worsened his condition/contributed to the ailments (though, of course, he refused to confirm that). Whatever the case, that won't stop him from using a torpedo bat when he's able to be activated off the injured list (he did confirm that).

As of right now, there's still no timetable for his return. He continues to experience pain in his elbows, but that will likely be the norm given the nature of the injuries. He will have to go on a rehab assignment before returning to the active roster.

Yankees Injury Update: Clarke Schmidt return, Allan Winans hits IL

In regard to more concrete timetables, Clarke Schmidt's return has been tabbed for April 15-16 vs the Kansas City Royals, according to manager Aaron Boone, who relayed the news before the Yankees' 7-5 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Schmidt, who suffered back and shoulder ailments in spring training, was originally supposed to be ready to go by April 3, but he was further slowed by the injuries and only saw 1 2/3 innings of spring action. He was limited to simulated games/live batting practices after that and was barely able to crack 40 pitches by the end of the spring.

That prompted the Yankees to push his return back, which was certainly the correct call. The right-hander just threw 46 pitches in a simulated game Monday and he will make two rehab starts before activation.

But their depth further down the line took a hit. Offseason acquisition Allan Winans, who was claimed off waivers from the Braves, was ominously placed on the 7-day injured list by the RailRiders Tuesday. Back on March 20, Winans was reassigned to minor league camp after an unimpressive spring, during which he logged a 5.02 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 14 1/3 innings pitched.

No injury was listed, so we'll once again be in the dark as we wait for more information. Winans wasn't going to be a major factor in 2025, but having him around was certainly supposed to help with the Yankees losing so many pitchers in the early going.