The Yankees were expected to send right-hander Clarke Schmidt to the mound against the Rays yesterday, but the right-hander wound up scratched from his start. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch notes that Schmidt told reporters that he’s dealing with some soreness in his left side, but fortunately it appears to be fairly minor. Hoch adds that Schmidt even told the Yankees he would be able to take the ball yesterday, but the club opted to scratch him and push his start back to this coming Tuesday. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic notes that, per manager Aaron Boone, Schmidt underwent an MRI that came back clearn, suggesting the issue is a minor one.
That Schmidt’s soreness appears to be fairly manageable is surely a huge relief for New York. With Gerrit Cole out for the year and both Luis Gil and Marcus Stroman currently shelved with injuries of their own, losing Schmidt just three starts into his 2025 season would be a brutal blow for the Yanks. Allan Winans remains in Triple-A as a potential spot starter option, but the club’s depth is largely being used in the rotation already with Carlos Carrasco and Will Warren currently getting regular starts.
Schmidt’s 14 2/3 innings of work so far this year have hardly been inspiring, but it’s worth remembering that he’s just one year removed from posting a sterling 2.85 ERA and 3.58 FIP across 16 starts. That strong performance in 2024 suggested front-half of the rotation potential within Schmidt, and perhaps being careful with the side issue he’s currently dealing with is the best way to tap into as much of that potential as possible in a season where little is working within the club’s rotation aside from Max Fried.
Turning to the other major Yankees injury news from yesterday, Anthony Volpe had a bit of an injury scare in the eighth inning of yesterday’s game. Hoch writes that Volpe heard a “pop” in his left shoulder while attempting to field a grounder.
“It happened quick and it was scary, but after that, I felt OK and I felt like I had my strength,” Volpe said, as relayed by Hoch. “I’ve never really had anything else pop or dislocate or anything like that, so I have nothing to compare it to.”
As Hoch notes, those encouraging early comments can’t necessarily be taken as gospel just days after Volpe’s double play partner Jazz Chisholm Jr. expressed optimism that his injury was a fairly minor one just before being placed on the injured list for what figures to be a four-to-six week absence. An MRI of Chisholm’s oblique revealed three high-grade tears in the area, though fortunately the volume of tears does not appear to have significantly altered Chisholm’s timetable for return as the second baseman still expects to return in that four-to-six week time frame.
Chisholm’s injury is already testing the club’s middle infield depth and forcing a combination of Jorbit Vivas and Pablo Reyes to handle the keystone for the foreseeable future. That makes the idea of an injury for Volpe all the more concerning, but Hoch suggested that the shortstop will likely be sent for an MRI before he’s fully cleared to play again despite the fact that he finished yesterday’s game and already underwent an x-ray that revealed no structural damage. (UPDATE: Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Hoch) this morning that Volpe is day-to-day after the club received “good news” from his MRI exam.)
Even if the Yankees weren’t already suffering from a dearth of infield depth, losing Volpe would be a serious blow given that he’s putting up such encouraging numbers on offense. After Volpe’s first two years saw him post well-below offensive numbers buoyed by Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop, the 24-year-old is actually hitting an impressive .233/.326/.442 with ten doubles, five homers, and a 10.6% walk rate in 33 games. That’s good for a 121 wRC+ so far this year, and Volpe’s excellent batted ball data suggests he may actually be producing less than his underlying performance would suggest he should be. It’s an exciting potential breakout performance for the Yanks, and the fans in the Bronx are surely waiting with bated breath for their potential budding star at shortstop to return to the lineup.
All the injuries piling up for the Yankees in the rotation and around the infield likely have many fans operating with one eye on the July 31 trade deadline. There’s plenty of room for improvement on this Yankees club, but there’s at least one prospect the club is expected to keep out of trade talks this summer as they pursue back-to-back World Series appearances after losing in five games to the Dodgers in last year’s Fall Classic. According to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, that prospect is young infielder George Lombard Jr.
As relayed by Kuty, the club does not expect Lombard to help in the majors this year but nonetheless he’s viewed by some evaluators as the club’s only “untouchable” prospect, with Kuty suggesting that it would require a “Godfather” offer to convince the Yankees to part with the young infielder. Still just 19 until next month, Lombard was the club’s first-rounder back in 2023 and is so far hitting an excellent .329/.496/.488 at the High-A level this year, with a promotion to Double-A at some point in the near future potentially in the cards.
Given that the Yankees (per Kuty) viewed Lombard as untouchable last season, when he slashed just .231/.338/.334 across two levels of A-ball, it’s hardly a shock that they aren’t inclined to trade him now that he appears to have broken out in such a substantial way. Still, with controllable aces like Pablo Lopez already seeing their names swirl in the rumor mill, refusing to part with Lombard could make it difficult for the Yankees to land a top-flight starter this summer in what figures to be a very competitive market for pitching talent.
Never can have enough pitching. Even the Dodgers….
Lombard’s father was also a “can’t miss” prospect. He missed.
No such thing as a can’t miss. So much of it is the ability and willingness to make the necessary adjustments. As with any prospect, just have to wait and see.
I agree. That’s why “can’t miss” was in quotations.
Regardless Lombard J.R is less likely to be moved. If Alcantara or Gallen are going to be traded, it’s possible he could be part of a package.
If Lombard, Jr. were to be traded, it wouldn’t be for either of those pitchers. The Yankees will want a cost-controlled position player. Gallen is a ’25 rental and Sandy hasn’t performed well. Gil will be back soon and Cole next year.
True YBC, and Gallen is on a downward trend this season. Plus, at this stage I have more faith in Lombard’s potential offense than Volpe’s.
I’ve been saying it for a while but this is Volpe – glove-first, league-average bat. Him and Jazz are not the type of players which should receive an extension.
exactly
except Anthony Volpe is there golden boy I won’t be given all the rope in the world for many years to come to prove how much of a genius cash Man thinks he is
That’s not the word on the street. The Yankees are going to go after the beat pitcher available to help them this year. They know they have a small window to make this happen. Should have emptied the farm system for Skubal last year.
@DR2025
Volpe is a perennial 3+ WAR player when you account for his plus defense. He’s a great, low-cost asset to the Yankees even though he may never blossom into an All-Star. The entire infield is better with him. I don’t care what Boone nor Cashman says about him.
i believe he will get there, but so far volpe has been way worse than a league-average bat
@dasit
Volpe is currently at 119 OPS+ which is objectively 19% better than league average.
I don’t care what they say about anything. He’s hit lately, but you know he’s due for one of his 0 for 100 streaks to knock his OPS plus way down below average, as usual. I don’t expect anything from him.
@YBC
Stop it with your facts and logic!
+BleacherCreature
Volpes OPS+ is above average, but it also just turned to May. He had a hot start last year too. Additionally, advanced defensive metrics suck and is therefore overvalued in WAR. Theres a reason Andrelton Simmons had an 8 WAR season, which was 0.1 WAR shy of the Altuve and Judge that year (who won the MVP while the other shouldve won) but was definitely no where near their value and got bounced from the league by age 32. Pointing to WAR for a defensive first player is a misguided attempt to evaluate a player.
If he can maintain a 119 OPS throughout the year then the convo can change around him. Its hard to imagine that its gonna stick when he was struggling catching up to 94mph down the plate though
@Begamin
Adv. metrics suck in small sample sizes but to outright dimiss OAA or DRS is kind of silly.
Do you truly, deep down in your heart, believe 2017 Simmons and 2017 Judge were pretty much equal since they were 0.1 WAR apart?
DRS is incredibly flawed. It does not take into account defensive shifts, player positioning, etc. Trea Turner increased his DRS by, quote, “all i had to do was move 3 feet closer and the algorithm liked me more”. Standing closer would make more balls hit towards you count as “unreachable” and therefore wont count against you. Playing deeper would allow tougher hit balls to be in your “range” to where you would then be docked points. Thats just one issue with DRS, so yes I will outright dismiss it.
Im not as well versed with OAA and how its calculated but every advanced defensive metric ive ever did a deep dive into ended up being shaky at best.
If your talking Judge’s two mvp seasons then make sure you get his WAR right. 2022 Judge had a war of 10.6 with 62 HRs and in 2024 he had a WAR of 10.8. Simmons was not close to Judge and you definitely are Yankee hater. If you don’t like Judge then at least state the facts correctly.
@Begamin
mlb.com/news/statcast-introduces-outs-above-averag…
There’s a linked recent breakdown of OAA by Tom Tango.
+Robert Nelson
…What? Im referring to 2017 when Judge shouldve won the MVP, and he had a WAR of 8.1 (baseball reference WAR). I made it very clear I was referencing 2017 as well, as I specified it. I stated the facts correctly, you just cant read.
+YankeesBleacherCreature
Ah, I remember what I didnt like about OAA, its related to how they determine catch probability. Theres multiple plays where a guy scaled the wall to rob a HR and they would label the catch probability 95% just because the only factors it considers is distance from ball and time in air. If they had missed robbing a HR, it wouldve cost them a full OAA. I think you can see the issue with that
referring to career numbers
obviously hope he maintains his 2025 production 🤞
Nick Martinez is pitching better than both Alcantara and Gallen and it looks like the Reds are managing his pitch count to position him for a trade. I can see the Yankees going after Martinez who is one a one year pact.
bhambrave, so that means Jr. wont make it in the bigs. Thanks for the insight.
He’s not wrong. Most highly-touted propects are busts and don’t live up to the PR/media hype. Looking at you Spencer Jones.
Bleacher: Jones has never put the bat on the ball enough. He’s got talent but his is a way more boom or bust profile. Lombard with his dad’s coaching and physical gifts is way more likely to have a significant career. I’m not ordering the monument yet but he seems likely to play MLB ball.
especially with the Yankees
@jerseyjohn There’s no doubt with his power but he needs to continue to work on his plate discipline. The high Ks at AA remains concerning.
Glad Volpe and Schmidt are OK!
I’m hoping Warren gets traded at this point while his value is somewhat good so he doesn’t turn into the next Chance Adams.
My pads can take him off your hands.
Fine, send us Michael King back and you can have Warren! 😛
Never listen to players before they receive scans. Instead consider their history.
Unsure it it’s a gamer attitude or disillusion but I’m not concerned and a trio of high grade tears is quite the gap for Jazz.
Players want to play and most of us thought we were invincible in our 20s. ‘Tis but a scratch.
Bring back Angel Berroa. Can’t be any worse than Chisholm and Reyes.
Aaron Boone got this
Jorbit Vivas could take Chisolm’s job.
I remember all these untouchables for Yankees every offseason and deadline, Peraza Cabrera Dominguez Volpe, please keep making them prospects untouchable Cashman
Brian Cashman is notorious for hanging onto prospects well past their expiration date, and then giving them up for nothing…… here’s looking at you, Yoendrys Gomez.
Too soon
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who noticed that
imo fear of losing a trade has kept cashman from pulling the trigger on win-win trades (soto a notable exception but that trade may be ordered by hal)
A sad commentary, when that is what prevent your leader from improving the team. That’s quite an indictment and yeah, and another reason why Cashman needs to go, but it’s net worth speaking about since it will never happen
The Flaherty one hurts bad. They balk at injury concerns, he beats them in WS.
He wouldn’t look bad in the back of the rotation
Will Warren is the next overrated young pitcher to end up in Mexico or the KBO
With the name “Yoendrys Gomez”, was there ever a doubt that he’d wind up with the Dodgers?
Id make the pitching prospects untouchable, all of them, Schlittler, LaGrange, Hess and Hampton. All should be developed and pitch for the Yankees.
I like Volpe, but calling .233/.326 a “breakout” is ultimate homer talk.
Calling Lopez an “ace” is also a little far fetched. He had a 4.08 ERA last year and a 3.86 for his career. He’s a 3 on a title team at best.
Volpe “inpressive” 233,,!!!ufff
that’s what I was thinking too. Boy have standards changed. There was a time when a 230 hitter was someone you would cut. now they’re raving about it.
The best thing Cashman could do is package Spencer Jones and GLJ for an impactful infielder or starter.
Good thing you’re not the GM. You would have a $400mil payroll with no depth at all. Last thing the team needs is another wrong side of 30 inflated contract with nothing to back them up.
The best thing Cashman could do is Retire
Cashman for MLB Commisioner 2029!
that would be great, anything to get him off the Yankees and get a real GM who knows what he’s doing.
hopefully the team declaring lombard untouchable is just posturing for leverage. no prospect should be untouchable while the judge window shrinks
well, they always do the opposite of what needs to be done, but unfortunately, whereas with George Costanza, it worked, with Cashman it does not.
Costanza would make for a better GM than Cashman.
Any astute fan who watched Lombard’s ABs this spring & in MiLB ABs can see that this kid, at 19, will be an excellent MLB hitter, barring a major injury.
Yes, the “can’t-miss” label is overused (just as GOAT & Superstar became trite terms through overuse), but Lombard clearly has that “something special” in his swing, his defense, and his overall makeup that earmarks him for MLB success.
There’s No Way I’d trade Lombard for Alcantara & his 8.31 ERA this year, which isn’t a fluke, since he’s given up As Many Hits as Innings Pitched for the 1st time in His Career. That strikes me as a warning sign that he’s either injured or ready for a major regression.
And that trend (in giving up more hits relative to his IP) was evident in his 2022 to 2023 numbers. In 2023, he gave up More Hits than he did in 2022, Despite Pitching 44 FEWER INNINGS, and his ERA jumped by almost 2 runs a game..Those aren’t good trends for future success..
I agree, Mick. Lombard’s swing IS special. It reminds me of a young Alex Rodriguez.
Have Yankee fans noted that JP Sears has an ERA under 3 and a WHIP of 1.0
Cashman gave him away and got nothing
He would be a great starter for the Yankees if they had believed in him like I did when they traded him
I’d still like to know why so many people thought it was a great idea to let Gleyber Torres walk to make room for Jazz at second base. Aside from Goldy, this infield is a dumpster fire. We have our SS of the future in Lombard Jr. PLEASE leave him at short and stop playing guys out of position. Volpe and Peraza are expendable. We might be able to at least get something for Volpe, but will never get even a Single A player for Peraza. This season is basically over in my opinion with a pitiful 19-15 record, and so many injuries. Go out and get a REAL second and third baseman, get Lombard to the bigs by next year, and get starting pitching. We are NOT a player or two away from winning a World Series, which is all that should be important to Yankee fans. I’d love to see us be sellers at the trade deadline, for once.
OK, I will answer my own question…
Self, it was a mistake to let Gleyber Torres get away and keep absolute scrubs on the team like Chrisolm, Volpe and Peraza, thinking they could ever match Gleyber’s production at the plate.