Yankees' Clarke Schmidt to Undergo Tommy John Surgery amid Forearm Injury

The New York Yankees will be without a key starting pitcher for the rest of the season.

Per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced Clarke Schmidt will undergo Tommy John surgery on Friday. Schmidt has been on the 15-day injured list because of a forearm injury.

Schmidt left last week's start against the Toronto Blue Jays after just three innings and later revealed that he'd been dealing with tightness in his right forearm since early June.

Hoch reported last week that Tommy John surgery was likely after an MRI revealed damage to Schmidt's right ulnar collateral ligament. Boone said the team felt surgery was “inevitable."

“He’s obviously devastated and bummed out,” Boone said. “But Clarke’s way is, you’ve got to flip the script. He’s getting his mind into, ‘Let’s get it fixed and get on with it and start to get after the rehab portion of it.’ I think mentally, that’s where he’s at.”

According to Hoch, it will be the second time Schmidt has had Tommy John surgery. He also underwent the procedure in 2017 during his junior year at South Carolina.

Schmidt, who made his MLB debut in 2020, has a 4-4 record with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He's pitched the fourth-most innings for the Yankees behind Max Fried, Carlos Rodón and Will Warren.

Losing Schmidt is just another blow to the Yankees' rotation. The team has been without star ace Gerrit Cole all year after he underwent Tommy John surgery in March. New York has also yet to see reigning Rookie of the Year Luis Gil this season because of a high-grade lat strain. Boone said last month that the team is hoping to have Gil back in late July.

Ryan Yarbrough landed on the 15-day injured list last month because of an oblique strain and has not yet returned. Marcus Stroman, who missed all of May and most of June, returned from the injured list at the end of July.

While the Yankees are still very much alive in the playoff race, a recent skid has seen them drop out of first place in the AL East, and they're currently 51-41.