Yankees Get Massive Update on Injured Starting Pitcher

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he wants Schmidt to make one more minor-league start. From there, the 2017 No. 16 pick would make his season debut either April 15 or 16 against the Kansas City Royals.

Don’t let the Yankees’ impressive 6-2 start fool you into thinking they don’t need Schmidt. The Yankees have allowed at least seven runs in three games thus far, with six pitchers entering Sunday owning at least a 5.40 ERA.

Former All-Star Marcus Stroman has already allowed seven runs over 8.2 innings. Stroman almost certainly would have entered the season in the bullpen, if not on another team entirely, not for the injuries to Schmidt, Gerrit Cole (elbow), and Luis Gil (lat).

Stroman, who turns 34 next month, pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday afternoon.

Carlos Carrasco and Will Warren also earned rotation spots following their teammates’ injuries. Warren, who has minor league options remaining, could potentially report to Triple-A upon Schmidt’s return.

The Yankees haven’t yet indicated if they’re open to using Warren out of the bullpen. The 2021 eighth-round pick gave up two runs in five innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks last week.

Carrasco pitched out of the bullpen last Saturday before making his first start Wednesday. Opponents have already scored six runs against the longtime Cleveland Guardians standout over his first 7.1 innings.