Lost amid the Aaron Judge injury scare, and the New York Yankees‘ 13-inning loss Wednesday was the fact they got a potentially important pitcher back in their bullpen.
Clarke Schmidt made his major-league return after missing the past 14.5 months due to Tommy John surgery, striking out two and allowing a pair of singles in the Yankees’ 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
Schmidt, who was recalled by the Yankees on Wednesday as the corresponding move for them designating for assignment beloved utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera, threw 24 pitches in two-thirds of an inning and did not allow a run.
It was his first appearance in a major-league game since July 3, 2025.
Clarke Schmidt Returned to the Majors on Wednesday
That Schmidt was able to return to the mound, overcoming both the injury and requisite mental hurdles of being off a big-league mound for more than 400 days, was a miracle.
So Schmidt felt grateful just to pitch.
“Exciting. It’s hard to put into words,” Schmidt said after the game. “Obviously [it was] a long journey and not an easy journey at all. Obviously, there’s a lot of ups and downs throughout the process, but it was really good just to get back out there.”
Schmidt came from the bullpen to a clean inning in the bottom of the seventh, in relief of starter Carlos Rodon. Schmidt later admitted he thought he was going in during the sixth inning before Rodon finished the frame.
“I thought Carlos was coming out, and I got excited and the adrenaline was at a high,” Schmidt said. “Then I had to sit back down and settle down for a little bit.”
Schmidt threw 13 strikes and got a pair of swings and misses, while giving up a pair of soft singles to Brooks Lee and Luke Luke Keaschall. Schmidt only threw one first-pitch strike to his four batters, a sign of nerves.
“It’s like your debut,” Schmidt said. “Thankfully, I’m a little bit more comfortable now, but it was similar emotions, just a surge of adrenaline and trying to slow the game down as much as you can and be as present as possible and not let the game speed up.”
Clarke Schmidt Has Stopped Throwing His Sweeper
Schmidt threw five pitches, a fastball, cutter, slider, sinker and knuckle-curveball, but one pitch he wasn’t throwing was his sweeper.
Schmidt used that pitch primarily against right-handed hitters, throwing it 22% against righties in 2025. His 12% usage made his sweeper his fourth-most used pitch of his arsenal last season.
But Schmidt dropped the pitch, telling the New York Daily News that he thought it contributed to his torn UCL.
“I was getting a lot of really good results with [the sweeper], so it’s hard to be like, ‘Oh, let’s stop throwing it,'” Schmidt told Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News in March. “It was like a double-edged sword.”
Schmidt’s sweeper contributed to his 28 1/3-inning scoreless streak last season, the longest in the majors, so it was fair to wonder how he would do without it. But he used his slider and cutter as a put-away pitch to righties.
“I thought the stuff was really good,” Schmidt said. “Overall, I thought my stuff was sharp.”
Clarke Schmidt Makes Emotional Return to Yankees’ Bullpen After 14 Months