New York Yankees Manager 'Really Excited' for Injured Pitcher's Season Debut

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone can't wait to get one of his star pitchers back.

Apr 4, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) greets his team during player introductions against the Pittsburgh Pirates n the 2025 Opening Day game at PNC Park. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

It's been nearly six months six New York Yankees fans last saw Clarke Schmidt pitch. He started Game 3 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing three runs in 2.2 innings in the Yankees' 4-2 loss at Yankee Stadium.

It was a disappointing ending to a career year for Schmidt, who finished 2024 with a 2.85 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP and 9.8 K/9 rate in 16 starts.

The 29-year-old righty had to wait a bit for his shot at redemption, however, after coming down with a shoulder injury during spring training. That landed him on the injured list to start the season, causing him to miss the first three weeks of the year.

After making two rehab starts at Double-A and building his arm strength back up, he's finally ready to return to the mound for New York. He'll make his season debut during tonight's series finale against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium.

Based on his pre-game comments to the media, Yankees manager Aaron Boone couldn't be happier to have Schmidt back in the fold.

Aaron Boone says he's "really excited" for Clarke Schmidt to return to the rotation

"We've seen him grow before our eyes over the last several years. He's important to our team and excited to get him back tonight" pic.twitter.com/tCAAJGCFJY

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 16, 2025

"Really excited. He's a really good pitcher," Boone said. "We've seen him grow before our eyes over the last several years...and really establish himself as a really good starter. He's important to our team and excited to get him back tonight."

New York is hoping Schmidt can provide a boost to its rotation, which is decimated by injuries and has struggled in the early going with the exception of Max Fried. Entering Wednesday's game, the Yankees had the second-worst starting pitcher ERA in baseball (4.98), ahead of only the last-place Baltimore Orioles.

Schmidt will try to follow up Fried's outstanding performance on Tuesday with a strong start of his own and help New York sweep the Royals. He'll face lefty Kris Bubic, who's 2-1 with a 0.96 ERA in three starts for Kansas City this year.

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