TAMPA — Clark Schmidt bouncing off Monday's bullpen session, but he may not be ready to start the season on time.
The Yankees plan on Tuesday is to throw a live batting practice on Thursday with Schmidt, who was injured from the scheduled start due to shoulder fatigue on Monday.
Even if that worked, he would only have enough time to go one more out before the opening day.
As the Yankees begin to debate internally about final roster decisions by beating camp a week away, they are weighing whether to carry Schmidt to the first roster at a limited length or start the season with an injured list so he can properly complete his build-up in Tampa.
“It just depends, do we want him to continue building him for another start?” manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday after a 4-4 tie with the Red Sox. “That's a question we have to answer. Obviously he's not going to reach pitch level. So we're going to make that call here. Is it most reasonable to take him there and build it there or make more sense? [more]? I understand. ”
Schmidt threw 38 pitches in the first and only Grapefruitreeg start of last week, indicating that his next outing on Tuesday is likely somewhere on the same pitch count.
If Schmidt starts the season in Illinois, the Yankees can start the season with both Carlos Carrasco (who has the March 22nd opt-out if not added to the roster) and Will Warren in the rotation.
This appears to be a possible scenario at this point, rather than rushing Schmidt back, especially after losing Gerrit Cole (Tommy John's surgery) in the season, and then already losing Lewis Gill (rat tension) until at least June.
Paul Goldschmidt was treated for Tuesday's pain after coming out of Monday's game after just two at-bats. The 37-year-old baseman was originally scheduled to play again on Wednesday, but the Yankees may have him take care of an extra day or two.
“I met him this morning and he wasn't really worried about it,” Boone said. “We use it to give it what we need, but we hope he'll come back there on Thursday or Friday.”
Count Alex Cora is among those who think the Yankees are OK this season despite the injuries he handled this spring.
Why is one of the reasons?
“That guy over there [Boone]he knows he gets a lot of S-T from people, but man, he's one of the best in the business,” said the Red Sox manager, who is good friends with Boone.
Aaron Judge collected his first extra-bass hit of spring Tuesday, excavating a 400-foot double from the wall in the field in the middle left. …Marcus Stroman will begin his split squad game with the Phillies on Wednesday afternoon before Carrasco gets a night cap against the Braves.
Catcher Rafael Flores and right-handed Cam Schlitler have been nominated for the 2024 Kevin Lawn Award. Both could open up some eyes to big league camp this spring and start the season with a double or triple A.
