Breaking Yankees News: Another Pitcher Set to Undergo Tommy John

Another bad blow for the New York Yankees' pitching staff, as manager Aaron Boone has told the media that Clarke Schmidt is gearing up for Tommy John surgery.

Clarke Schmidt has a likely UCL tear and is expected to require Tommy John surgery, Aaron Boone said.
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) July 5, 2025

An MRI on Friday night revealed the torn ulnar collateral ligament. He left his last start, against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday, after three innings with elbow discomfort. He admitted that he'd been dealing with elbow soreness for a month, but pitching through it.

Schmidt has been an important part of the Yankees rotation this season, filling in after Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil went down. Schmidt, in 14 starts, had a 3.32 ERA with 1.09 WHIP. He had a 73:30 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 78 innings.

This would be his second Tommy John, as he had his first such surgery back in 2017. The 29-year-old Schmidt was a first-round pick by the Yanks in the 2017 MLB Draft.

"He's become a really, really good starting pitcher in this league," Boone said of Schmidt. "So, it's a tough blow. Every team has their share of these things that happen, and we've got to be able to absorb it."

The Yankees are calling up 24-year-old prospect Cam Schlittler, who was only promoted to Triple-A just last month. He has a 3.80 ERA in five starts with a 35:9 strikeouts to walk ratio in 23 innings at AAA.

The Yankees plan to promote Cam Schlittler to make his MLB debut vs the Mariners according to @Joelsherman1

He features a 97 MPH fastball and was ranked as the 89th-best prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America. pic.twitter.com/sFKF1tUWMJ
— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) July 5, 2025