Schmidt relieved injury is just muscle issue

Clarke Schmidt is relieved, but disappointed. One of the Yankees top pitching prospects said he was very thankful that the pain and stiffness in his elbow is a muscle injury and not related to the Tommy John surgery he had earlier in his career. Having come into spring training believing he was competing for a job, however, Schmidt is frustrated he won’t be able to make that case.

“I kind of started about throwing my bullpens and stuff earlier this year, because obviously I was coming in competing for a job. So I wanted to come in ready... wanting to come in as if it was a mid season. I think maybe going into my first bullpen I was kind of letting it go a little bit too much,” Schmidt said. “It’s just a maturing process and kind of learning what works and what doesn’t work.”

Schmidt was shut down after straining the group of muscles in the outer elbow responsible for extending the arm and pronating the hand. He will not throw for three to four weeks, which means he will not have a chance to show the Yankees his growth over the winter.

Tossing out 2020: After a breakout season in 2019, there is nothing Mike Tauchman can take from 2020. The outfielder hit .242/.342/.305 in 111 plate appearances over 43 games. He was dealing with an undisclosed shoulder issue, which he said is an on-going maintenance issue for him. But basically the 60-game pandemic shortened season was a lost year. “It was a difficult season to evaluate in that there wasn’t a ton of opportunity . ... I felt like I had a bad few weeks and the next thing you know, the season’s over,” Tauchman said. “That’s not saying that you don’t have to perform because regardless of what’s going on the game is about performance, and I didn’t perform to the level that I expected myself.”