SARASOTA, Fla. — Clarke Schmidt may actually be healthy to start the season, but he still appears likely to land on the injured list by Opening Day with a case of insufficient buildup.
The Yankees right-hander threw two innings of live batting practice Thursday afternoon at Steinbrenner Field and got through it without issues after being scratched from a start on Monday with shoulder fatigue.
The only problem was that Schmidt threw just 32 pitches across the equivalent of two innings, leaving him well behind the rest of his fellow starters in pitch count with just a few days left in camp.
For reference, Max Fried threw 32 pitches in a two-inning live batting practice session on Feb. 20, one full month before Schmidt got there on Thursday.
Schmidt threw 38 pitches in his first and only Grapefruit League start on March 11, but had trouble bouncing back from, which now has him playing catch-up.
The best bet is Schmidt staying back in Tampa to start the season so he can properly build up his pitch count somewhere in the vicinity of 70-80 pitches instead of leaving the Yankees short, though manager Aaron Boone wasn’t ready to make that official yet on Thursday.
“It’s possible,” Boone said. “We’ll see. It’s possible, but we haven’t made that final decision.”
Delaying Schmidt’s start to the season would allow the Yankees to carry both Carlos Carrasco and Will Warren in the rotation after both have had strong camps.
“We’re going to do what’s right for Clarke and us over the long haul,” Boone said before facing the Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium. “We gotta make sure we get that right. Whether we’re at full strength or have a couple guys down, it doesn’t change the equation. We got to get him right. We know how important he is to our rotation and to our season.”
In the meantime, Boone was pleased with how Schmidt looked Thursday while facing Austin Wells, Paul Goldschmidt, Pablo Reyes, Dominic Smith and Ismael Munguia.
“I thought he controlled his force well so he wasn’t overcooking it but still kind of living at 94 [mph] with his sinker,” Boone said. “Overall a good day.”
Former Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo finally found a new home Thursday, signing a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Braves.
The Yankees paid him $8.7 million last season in his final year of arbitration, and while he provided high-level defense in left field, the 28-year-old Verdugo hit just .233 with a .647 OPS in 149 games.
“He’s a big league player — and a good one,” Boone said. “The Braves got a really good player for not a lot of money.”
Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Tim Hill and Fernando Cruz all threw their first back-to-back of the spring on Thursday, each throwing an inning of live batting practice after pitching in Wednesday night’s game against the Braves.
That was likely the last hurdle for each to clear before breaking camp.
Ian Hamilton, who was slowed earlier in camp with an infection, was scheduled to make his first Grapefruit League appearance of the spring Thursday against the Orioles.
The Yankees on Thursday reassigned LHP Brandon Leibrandt and RHP Allan Winans to minor league camp. Both should provide starting depth at Triple-A to start the season.
