Clarke Schmidt injury update: Aaron Boone reveals Yankees pitcher will likely need Tommy John surgery

Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt will likely need Tommy John Surgery, New York manager Aaron Boone revealed. Schmidt was designated to the 15-day injured list after feeling discomfort in his forearm following his start against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.

“He’s going to probably have to have surgery,” Boone told reporters. “He’s kind of getting second opinions and things now, but yeah, not great news on that front. We’ll see what goes on here the next couple days.”

He made the start on Thursday against Toronto, completing three innings where he allowed three runs, four hits and two walks. He faced 15 batters and struck out one. According to Statcast, each of his pitches had reduced velocity compared to his previous season average.

Schmidt will finish the 2025 season having made 14 appearances. He finished with a 4-4 win-loss record to go with a. 3.32 ERA and 1.09 WHIP across 78.2 innings pitched. Schmidt struck out 73 batters over that span.

He was in the midst of his sixth season playing at the major league level after he was selected No. 16 overall in the 2017 MLB Draft out of South Carolina. He’s spent four seasons in the Yankees’ regular rotation.

This will be the second time that Schmidt has had to undergo the surgery. The first time came prior to being drafted by the Yankees in 2017 following his Gamecocks career.

Now, Schmidt will head to the sidelines for the foreseeable future. He joins a list of Yankees starting pitchers who are also injured. Gerrit Cole is out of the season after he underwent a Tommy John Surgery of his own. Luis Gil and Ryan Yarbrough are also on the IL. Marcus Stroman recently came back after being on the IL himself as well.

Despite the injury woes across the Yankees’ starting pitching staff, New York is still 48-40 on the season and 2.0 games back from the Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. The Yankees are tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for the top spot in the American League Wild Card race.

However, the Yankees are on a bit of a skid at the moment. They’ve lost their last five matchups and were swept by Toronto in a four-game series. On Friday, the Yankees lost to the New York Mets 6-5 in the series opener. Both teams will meet again on Saturday with first pitch set for 4:10 p.m. ET.