NEW YORK -- Clarke Schmidt was scratched from his scheduled start against the Rays on Saturday with left flank soreness.
The Yankees right-hander underwent an MRI on Friday afternoon that came back clean, according to manager Aaron Boone. Schmidt is now in line to start against the Padres on Tuesday, and he is not expected to require a stint on the injured list.
Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough was inserted as Saturday’s spot starter against Tampa Bay in place of Schmidt, who is 0-1 with a 5.52 ERA in three starts.
“There was just a little extra soreness this last start,” said Schmidt, whose most recent outing was on April 27 against the Blue Jays. “I told them I was good to go today. I actually left the field [Friday] expecting to start today, and then Max [Fried] went deep in the game and there was some maneuverability with the bullpen.”
Schmidt opened the season on the injured list with right rotator cuff tendinitis, which he attributed to attempting to build up too quickly following a shorter layoff stemming from participating in last year’s postseason and World Series.
“I think Clarke was a little concerned, especially just with everything he’s been through, being behind [this spring] and having some minor things pop up,” Boone said. “So [the clean MRI] was definitely a relief. We should be OK moving forward.”
The Yankees’ pitching depth has been affected by spring injuries to Gerrit Cole (out for the season following Tommy John surgery) and Luis Gil (currently playing catch as he recovers from a high-grade right lat strain). Marcus Stroman (left knee inflammation) also landed on the injured list after beginning the season as the No. 3 starter.
Fried has stepped up as the ace in Cole’s absence, improving to 6-0 with a 1.01 ERA with seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball in Friday’s 3-0 victory over the Rays.
But while the Yanks are a perfect 7-0 in Fried’s starts, they had a 12-13 record entering play Saturday when all other pitchers start.
Schmidt said he feels “comfortable and confident” that he will be ready to take the ball on Tuesday.
“I’m not the decisionmaker here. I go out there whenever they tell me to,” Schmidt said. “But I’m thankful that it’s just a couple of days moving around; nothing in the grand scheme of things.”