Injuries continue to plague the Yankees as they head into the final few games of the regular season, and this time the bullpen takes a toll.
The Yankees announced that reliever Clarke Schmidt was sent to the 15-day injured list with bicep neuritis, which means he will likely be left out of the postseason roster and unavailable for the upcoming Wild Card Series. They called up righty reliever Bradley Hanner from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take his place for the time being.
This situation puts the bullpen
in a tighter spot and raises more questions about who will be shuffled around to take on a relief role in the postseason. Will Warren is expected to be a healthy weapon who can make an impact, and Carlos Rodón has a lot of potential if he doesn’t end up in a starting role, so the outlook isn’t as bad as it seems. Ryan Weathers is still up in the air as an option; it would’ve been nice to see him get some reps before the postseason officially begins.
After recovering from Tommy John surgery that kept him on the IL for most of the regular season, Schmidt made his return against the Twins, striking out two batters and allowing two hits. He was initially poised to make his second appearance on Sunday against the Diamondbacks, but halted his warmup from the bullpen due to bicep soreness. It seems that his injury is lingering longer than both Schmidt and the Yankees anticipated.
The Yankees postseason begins next week with the Wild Card Series, and hopefully, despite missing Schmidt, the bullpen will provide enough assurance to shut down Boston.
