SPRING STRAINING
Yankees shut down Schmidt 3-4 weeks with elbow injury
TAMPA — The first injury scare in the Yankees’ rotation didn’t come from Corey Kluber and his shoulder or the surgically repaired elbows of Jameson Taillon or Luis Severino.
Rather, it was Clarke Schmidt who’s been sidelined with a strained tendon in his elbow.
Aaron Boone said Monday the right-hander will be shut down for three to four weeks with a common extensor tendon strain, which Boone likened to tennis elbow.
The injury likely will force the 25-year-old Schmidt to miss the first month of the regular season, a season in which he figures to compete for a rotation spot behind Kluber, Taillon, Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery.
Schmidt felt the discomfort after his most recent bullpen session and underwent an MRI exam, with team physician Chris Ahmad confirming the diagnosis.
The injury, Boone said, was unrelated to Schmidt’s 2017 Tommy John surgery and his UCL is “intact.”
Dr. James Gladstone, chief of sports medicine at Mount Sinai Health System, noted the injury is on the other side of the elbow from the UCL and MCL and should be able to be treated with rest.
That’s good news for a Yankee team that has built considerable depth in its rotation, with the additions of Kluber and Taillon and the considerable expectations of young arms like Schmidt and Deivi Garcia.
Domingo German is also in the running for a spot and he also has to deal with his teammates as he returns from his suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence protocols.
Prior to the Schmidt development, the Yankees had been encouraged by what they’d seen from their starters in the first week of camp.
Cole threw his first live batting practice of the spring Monday, with Gary Sanchez behind the plate, and “did exactly what he needed to do,’’ according to Boone.
Kluber and Taillon have so far impressed coaches and catchers and Boone remains confident Montgomery is poised for better results than he had a year ago.
But there will be doubt, at least from the outside, about how the rotation will hold up until proven otherwise.
Severino, though, is among those not concerned with the rotation.
“I think our rotation is gonna be great,” Severino said. “[With] Taillon and Corey Kluber, [we’re] gonna have seven or eight guys that are gonna be good pitchers on any team.”
And the depth of the starters will be key.
“I hope nothing happens [with injuries],” Severino said. “But if somebody goes down, we’ve got somebody else who can go.”
That should include Severino at some point during the summer as he rehabs from the elbow surgery he underwent a year ago this week.
“I’m 100 percent sure that I’ll be back the way I was in the past,’’ Severino said Monday. “My body, my arm [and] even mentally, I feel strong. When I get a chance to be back in New York, I’ll be myself again.”
Brian Cashman has said he expects Severino back by “late summer.” Severino said Monday he hopes it comes sooner, but is more focused on the steps it will take to get there.
He’s been throwing from 90 feet and will throw from 120 feet starting Tuesday. The plan is for Severino to throw four days a week in the coming days.
For now, he’s only throwing fastballs and will begin throwing breaking balls soon, which is when he felt discomfort prior to the surgery.
As for the healthy starters, Boone said he and pitching coach Matt Blake will determine a schedule in the coming days for the first games of spring training, which begin Sunday.
And beyond Cole starting Opening Day on April 1, Boone said he doesn’t yet have an order for the rest of the rotation, but did say they would take advantage of off days early on to get starters extra rest — including Cole — in an effort to “build guys up.”