NEW YORK — The Yankees have spent the past week collecting encouraging news on their injured players. Giancarlo Stanton is swinging against live pitching again, Cody Bellinger is running, and Carlos Rodon is nearing a rehab start. Then one afternoon session added a note of caution.
Clarke Schmidt, working his way back from Tommy John surgery, felt cramping in his forearm during a live batting practice session and cut the outing short. Expected to throw three simulated innings, he stopped after two. Schmidt was set to see a doctor that night, though the Yankees said they were not especially worried.
For a rehab that had been progressing steadily, it was an unwelcome pause. Forearm discomfort is the kind of symptom that pitchers and teams monitor closely after elbow surgery, which is why a session ending early drew notice even as the Yankees downplayed it.
What happened with Schmidt
Schmidt has been on the 60-day injured list all season, rebuilding from the elbow procedure he underwent in July 2025. The Yankees viewed facing hitters in live BP as one of the final steps before a rehab assignment, which would put a return within reach.
The session did not finish as planned. Schmidt completed two of his three expected up-downs before the cramping surfaced and ended his day early. According to the Yankees, the issue is believed to be minor, and Schmidt was not scheduled to undergo imaging.
Boone described the decision to stop as a cautious one, driven by the player’s own feel rather than any alarming sign.
“Hopefully it’s not much, but enough for him to say, ‘Let’s not do the third up,’” Boone said. “We’ll see what that looks like today and tomorrow.”
The manager stressed that there were no immediate plans for imaging, and he framed the outcome in hopeful terms.
“Hopefully it’s just some cramping,” Boone said.
Cramping is not a diagnosis, and the Yankees were careful not to treat it as one. The next day or two will tell them more about whether the interruption is a blip or something that slows the timeline.
Why the forearm word carries weight
The concern is not the cramping itself but where it lives. Forearm tightness sits near the elbow ligament that Tommy John surgery repairs, and pitchers coming back from that operation are watched closely for exactly this kind of symptom.
That context is why a session ending early registers as more than a footnote. Schmidt had been building toward a rehab assignment, and the Yankees need healthy arms. A clean next step would keep him on track. A lingering issue would not.
For now, the team’s message is patience. No imaging is scheduled, the belief is that the problem is minor, and the plan is to reassess in the coming days. For the Yankees, that is a measured response, not a worried one.
The rest of the Yankees’ injury picture
The Schmidt scare stood out because so much of the surrounding news was positive. Stanton, slowed by a calf setback, faced live pitching for a second straight day and continues to feel well as he adds to his workload. He took his at-bats against Schmidt in that same session.
Bellinger, sidelined by a hamstring strain, ran in the outfield before the game and is trending toward a return, though he remains weeks away. Boone offered an upbeat read on the outfielder’s progress.
“Belli’s trending in a really good direction, so I don’t think that’ll be too long,” Boone said.
Aaron Judge remains the biggest name on the list. The captain, sidelined by a stress fracture in his right rib, still has no date set for the additional imaging that will determine when he can resume baseball activities.
Rodon is the closest to returning
Of all the arms the Yankees are waiting on, Carlos Rodon is the furthest along. The left-hander, out since late June with left elbow inflammation, threw about 40 pitches in a live batting practice session and cleared it without issue. Boone said the next step is a rehab start, one the manager indicated would probably come with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Rodon last pitched for the Yankees on June 28, when he tossed five scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox before the elbow issue sent him to the injured list. His return would deepen a rotation that has carried the Yankees through their run of injuries, slotting him behind the top of the staff as the postseason race tightens.
Where the Yankees stand
The injuries have defined the Yankees’ season, and the roster has held up better than expected. New York sits at 64-50, second in the American League East behind the Tampa Bay Rays, still firmly in the playoff picture despite missing Judge, Stanton and Bellinger for long stretches.
Getting those bats back, along with reinforcements on the mound, is the plan the front office leaned on when it stayed relatively quiet at the trade deadline. Each rehab step matters more because of that choice.
Schmidt’s forearm is the newest variable. The Yankees are betting it is nothing more than cramping, a one-day interruption in a rehab that resumes on schedule. The next update will show whether that optimism holds, or whether a pitcher who has already given so much time to injury faces another delay.
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