MINNEAPOLIS — Clarke Schmidt’s first morning back on the Yankees roster began with a small request after more than 14 months away from a major league mound. He wanted coffee, preferably a latte, before the long-awaited return Wednesday at Target Field.
The right-hander was already carrying enough adrenaline. Schmidt entered the Yankees’ 5-4, 13-inning loss to the Twins as the first reliever behind Carlos Rodon, taking over in the seventh with New York down 2-0. It was his first major league appearance since July 3, 2025.
Schmidt recorded two outs, struck out two and allowed two soft singles on 24 pitches, 13 strikes. His four-seam fastball reached 95.8 mph. Brent Headrick stranded both inherited runners before the Yankees tied the game in the ninth on Anthony Volpe’s two-run double.
For Schmidt, the inning carried more weight than an ordinary relief appearance. He called the return emotional after a second Tommy John operation and a rehabilitation filled with repetitive days away from competition. His father, Dwight, a Delta Air Lines pilot, rearranged his schedule to be in Minnesota.
“It’s a lot like your debut,” Schmidt said. “Thankfully, I’m a little bit more comfortable now, but I think it was similar emotions and a surge of adrenaline.”
The Yankees also got an immediate look at the limits of his current role. Schmidt is working out of the bullpen because there was not enough time to rebuild him as a starter before the regular season ends. He was unhappy with reaching three three-ball counts against four hitters, even though the contact against him was weak.
That outing showed the arm is responding. For a Yankees club evaluating every postseason bullpen option, the next few appearances will be about whether Schmidt can command his pitches under greater pressure and recover on a reliever’s schedule in October.
Schmidt returns with one notable pitch missing
Schmidt confirmed Thursday that he is no longer throwing his sweeper, a pitch he believes contributed to the elbow trouble that led to Tommy John surgery after his 2025 season ended.
He and the Yankees pitching department altered the grip during the 2025 season to create more horizontal movement. Schmidt began using that version May 6 against San Diego. He later said the grip required extra pressure and torque. A month later, right forearm soreness complicated his recovery between starts.
“I think the No. 1 thing that played a factor was mid-season grip changes,” Schmidt said in March. “You make grip changes, and you start to really put different stress on different areas of your forearm and stuff like that.”
The pitch had worked, which complicated the decision to abandon it.
“I was getting a lot of really good results with it, so it’s hard to be like, ‘Oh, let’s stop throwing it,’” Schmidt said. “It was like a double-edged sword.”
What losing the sweeper actually costs
Statcast data from 2025 shows Schmidt threw the sweeper 12.2% of the time. Hitters batted .125 against it with a .188 wOBA, and it generated a 35.8% whiff rate.
The Yankees do not necessarily need a one-for-one replacement. Schmidt’s slider produced better results by run value in 2025. Opponents hit .061 against it with a .139 wOBA, and the pitch was worth seven runs compared with one for the sweeper.
His sweeper usage had already fallen from 23.7% in 2024. Wednesday he used five offerings: four-seam fastball, cutter, slider, sinker and knuckle curve.
That mix gives the Yankees multiple velocity bands and movement profiles without returning to the grip Schmidt believes stressed his arm.
Yankees see poise, but execution still needs sharpening
Aaron Boone liked how Schmidt handled a tight game after such a long absence, even if two poorly located pitches became singles.
“He looked pretty sharp and didn’t look sped up or overwhelmed at all,” Boone said. “It’s a tight ballgame there, your first game in over a year, and I’m sure there’s some emotions there. I thought he handled all that pretty well. Hopefully, as he goes now, he’ll get a little sharper.”
Schmidt also experienced the unfamiliar rhythm of relief work. He began warming in the first inning when Rodon labored, then had to sit down and wait until the seventh.
“In traditional bullpen fashion, I got dry humped a little bit in the first,” Schmidt said with a laugh. “I thought Carlos was coming out, and I was excited and the adrenaline was at a high. And then I had to sit back down and settle down for a second.”
October test shifts from recovery to repertoire
The Yankees activated Schmidt after five minor league rehab appearances in which he allowed three runs over seven innings, struck out 11 and walked one. He will not pitch on back-to-back days, and Boone has said he could work more than three outs depending on recovery.
Schmidt’s 2025 season had been effective before the injury. He went 4-4 with a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts, held opponents to a .199 batting average and put together a 28 1/3-inning scoreless streak in June.
Now the Yankees are measuring something different. His first night back showed mid-90s velocity, two swinging strikeouts and enough composure to navigate a high-adrenaline return. The sweeper is gone, and the Yankees need to see whether the rest of Schmidt’s arsenal can carry the workload that pitch once helped handle.
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