The New York Yankees’ Opening Day roster has lost another starting pitcher.
General manager Brian Cashman confirmed to reporters Saturday that Clarke Schmidt will begin the season on the injured list with a shoulder issue, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post, making him the third member of the rotation to go down with an injury.
Reliever Ian Hamilton will also begin the season on the injured list.
Fortunately, Schmidt’s injury appears to be relatively minor. He threw a bullpen session earlier this week and reported no issues — it could just be that the team has decided he won’t be ready in time for the start of the season. Still, no Schmidt means the Yankees are already digging deep into their depth chart.
At the start of March, the Yankees’ rotation was slated to look like one of the best in MLB with a unit consisting of:
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Gerrit Cole
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Max Fried
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Luis Gil
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Clarke Schmidt
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Carlos Rodón
Cole, the former AL Cy Young winner, is now out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, will miss at least three seasons with a lat strain.
Using only in-house options, the Yankees are now poised to have this rotation:
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Max Fried
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Carlos Rodón
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Marcus Stroman
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Will Warren
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Carlos Carrasco
Stroman was previously bristling at the likelihood of being the odd man out in the rotation, but is now effectively the team’s No. 3 starter. Warren is a rookie who got knocked around in abbreviated MLB action last year to the tune of a 10.32 ERA, but has looked better in spring training. Carrasco is an MLB veteran who signed a minor league deal Feb. 3 and is now poised to have his contract selected.
Schmidt missed a large chunk of the season last year with a lat strain, but still enjoyed a career season with a 2.85 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 85 1/3 innings.
The Yankees are expected to be a legitimate World Series contender, but losing Gil and Cole hurt their odds at BetMGM. Vegas still gives them the best chance of any team in the AL to win the Commissioner’s Trophy at +900, but the team isn’t on what you would call a good trend right now.
The Los Angeles Dodgers remain easily the MLB favorite with +240 odds after beating the Yankees in the Fall Classic last season and arguably enjoying the best offseason of any MLB team.
The Yankees are scheduled to open their season at home Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers.
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