Yankees' summer collapse just got worse with Clarke Schmidt injury news

The Yankees have lost 15 of their last 21 games and they just lost another important piece of their pitching staff. They might not see him again until 2027, either.

Manager Aaron Boone revealed on Saturday before the Subway Series game against the Mets that Clarke Schmidt has a torn UCL and will "likely" need Tommy John surgery. It was every fan's suspected fear when the right-hander was pulled from his Thursday start with forearm tightness.

Schmidt is gathering second opinions, but his fate looks to be secured. It's always best to be diligent, but the prevalence of these elbow injuries coupled with Schmidt's injury history make it seem like we're looking at a worst-case scenario.

It's a shame, too, because Schmidt finally looked to be coming into his own. He was on track for the best 30-start campaign of his career. Schmidt was solid in his 32 starts back in 2023 and then was excellent for 16 outings last year before injuries took hold.

In 2025, he's been limiting baserunners and his peripheral metrics were aligning with the production on the field, which is all you can ask for. He recently completed 28 1/3 scoreless innings of work — a notable mark in franchise history.

Yankees Injury Update: Clarke Schmidt to likely undergo Tommy John surgery

Schmidt underwent imaging on Friday and the results of this unfortunate reality will make the Yankees' lives that much harder at the trade deadline. New York already needed pitching, and Schmidt being down and out leaves them with Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Will Warren, Marcus Stroman and TBD with all of Luis Gil, Ryan Yarbrough, Fernando Cruz and Gerrit Cole (who will not be returning) on the IL.

Warren's been a concerning mixed bag despite many positives, and Stroman's not exactly the most trustworthy option as we head into what's expected to be a hotly contested second half of the season. The returns of Gil and Yarbrough will be massive, but it still leaves the pitching staff thin as so many solutions are needed for Mark Leiter Jr., Ian Hamilton, Jonathan Loaisiga and Scott Effross. Cruz eventually coming back just maintains what was an already weak status quo.

Yankees fans are feeling for Schmidt today. He's been one of the hardest working pitchers in the organization since he debuted for the team. He didn't deserve this outcome. But this team also hasn't deserved a lot of what's come their way recently.

Another season, another terribly timed injury to kick the never-ending spiral into high gear.