The Yankees’ right-handed pitcher, Clarke Schmidt, has revealed his plans to return to the diamond after next season’s All-Star break, according to recent statements. Schmidt, who wears a metal splint on his right arm after undergoing internal reinforcement surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament of his elbow, shared details about his recovery.
The surgical intervention was performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas on July 11, and Schmidt was informed that recovery would take approximately one year. The pitcher also explained that, according to the information he has received, this intervention represents the best possible scenario compared to a complete Tommy John reconstruction, which reduces the estimated recovery time.It wasn’t a complete reconstruction. Basically, the ligament was tearing away from the bone, so they just reattached it to the bone and didn’t have to add any ligament. That was very encouraging.
Clarke Schmidt
Schmidt first felt discomfort when he pitched 5 2/3 innings against the Cleveland Guardians on June 4. After that, he made five more starts, covering 29 2/3 innings, and threw 103 pitches in seven no-hit innings against the Baltimore Orioles on June 21. The Yankees pushed back his next start to June 28 and had to leave the game after three innings on July 3 in Toronto due to forearm discomfort. Schmidt began the season on the injured list while recovering from right rotator cuff tendinitis. Before the surgery, Schmidt had a 4-4 record with a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts this season. He previously underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2017.If it had been a complete reconstruction, we would be talking about 14 to 16 months. I think we dodged a major bullet with that.
Clarke Schmidt
