Clarke Schmidt plans on taking the mound on Saturday. It will be his first time doing so since landing on the injured list with a right lat strain on June 18.
“I’m excited about that. Really happy with where everything’s at. Feeling really good, so it’s been a clean progression so far,” Schmidt said Friday, adding that he hasn’t felt any pain since his throwing program began. “I feel very confident physically where I’m at. And mentally, there’s no roadblocks as far as holding back or anything like that.”
Schmidt said he planned on throwing less than 20 pitches on Saturday, and they won’t be limited to fastballs. He’ll also throw off flat ground before a “full blown” mound session on Tuesday.
He added that he feels further ahead than he would at the start of spring training. He also believes there’s enough time to build up fully before the end of the season.
“We kind of have somewhat of a foresight of what’s going to happen within the next couple of weeks,” Schmidt said. “It’s also dependent on how you feel and respond, but they’re very, very confident that we’ll be able to build back up.”
Schmidt was working on an All-Star worthy season before his injury, recording a 2.52 ERA over 11 starts. That mark still leads a Yankees rotation that has faltered in recent weeks after looking like one of baseball’s best while Schmidt was still active.
As Schmidt progresses, he said that the mental hurdles have been more difficult than the physical ones. The Yankees haven’t played well as a unit lately, and he’s been eager to help.
“That’s definitely the hardest part, just kind of sitting back and trying to keep my head down,” Schmidt said. “I’s tough. Obviously, you watch all the games and you want to be out there, but the best thing I can do for myself at that point in time is just getting healthy and getting back out there. So definitely very, very excited to get back out there.”
Berti Suffers Setback
The Yankees had hoped that Jon Berti (calf) would be close to starting a rehab assignment following the All-Star break. Instead, the utilityman suffered a setback.
Aaron Boone called it “minor,” but Berti’s return is no longer “imminent.” He’ll return to New York on Saturday for another PRP shot before ramping up his running next week.
“It’s gonna be a little bit longer,” Boone said.
Berti’s injury may have an impact on the Yankees’ trade deadline plans, as the team could use an upgrade over DJ LeMahieu at third base. Berti could have been an internal candidate for that need, but he’s had a hard time staying healthy this season.
Trevino Better Than Expected
Boone said that Jose Trevino is doing better than anticipated after injuring his quad just before the break. The catcher has already begun his running progression and threw with Boone on Thursday.
“We’ve been encouraged here by the first several days of this,” the manager said.
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