This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
NEW YORK – It was just 15 pitches from the Yankee Stadium mound, tossed to a couple of teammates standing in, with the grandstands empty and coaches delivering strict instructions not to do anything fancy.
Even so, Clarke Schmidt could feel his heart thumping, almost as though he was pitching in the World Series.
“The initial feeling is of excitement – not a full game feeling with the butterflies and stuff like that, but close to it,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt had his cleats on the dirt this past weekend, the only activity in the ballpark before Saturday’s game against the Dodgers was postponed and rescheduled as part of Sunday’s split-admission doubleheader.
Facing hitters represented a significant milestone for Schmidt, who has enjoyed a largely uneventful recovery from Tommy John surgery performed in July 2025. Schmidt says his rehab has been “very seamless,” which he credits in part to having undergone the internal brace procedure.
“It feels like it was less invasive,” said Schmidt, who previously underwent Tommy John surgery as a college pitcher in 2017. “In my first one, when you start the bullpen phase, it feels a little yucky at times. You just have a lot more days where it doesn’t feel great.
“[Saturday] I hit 95 [mph] a couple of times, and it felt pretty easy to get that. I would say it feels a little easier, where I don’t have to reach back and have those days where you’re grinding a little bit.”
Schmidt’s next outing will be similar to the session in which he faced Anthony Volpe and Ali Sánchez, aiming to incorporate breaking pitches. In his first outing, Schmidt said he was limited to throwing his four-seamer, sinker and cutter, following a blueprint Gerrit Cole sketched this spring.
“I’ve been throwing breaking balls the whole time, but Gerrit threw all fastballs his first live [BP session] in Spring Training,” Schmidt said. “It’s a good North Star to have right here, so we’ll just follow his method.”
Schmidt said he was clocked up to 94 mph in the bullpen, at which point the Yanks told him to take a little gas off the pedal.
That won’t always be the case, with the club in the market for relief help as the Trade Deadline approaches. General manager Brian Cashman and his staff are seeking a swing-and-miss arm who could upgrade their current choices.
While Cashman is expected to explore everything that could potentially be available, from the Padres’ electric Mason Miller to lesser-known figures, there is hope that one of their answers could come from within.
Schmidt has been a starting pitcher for years, but it would be quicker to prepare him for a relief role. If they do, he could potentially help the Yankees sometime in August, assuming his future live BPs and eventual Minor League rehab outings go well.
It’s a role Schmidt has filled before – 26 of his 29 appearances in 2022 came as a reliever, pitching to a 2.74 ERA across those 46 innings, holding opponents to a .202 batting average.
“Your back’s against the wall a little bit as far as getting a full pitch count of 60 to 70 pitches,” Schmidt said. “But I know I’ll be able to be back at some point in some facet this year.”
Manager Aaron Boone frequently says that Schmidt has more confidence than nearly anyone within the Yankees’ clubhouse, and not surprisingly, Schmidt believes he could fill whatever need the Yankees have – and do it well.
“That’s the only thing on my mind right now,” Schmidt said. “I want to help this team. I care about my career and the long-term, stuff like that, but for me right now – I know how talented we are. I’ve seen the upside of this team throughout the season.
“When I lay my head down at night, that’s all I’m thinking about; how can I be an impact on this team?”