New York Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt will start a rehab assignment on Friday and said that he is built up to 50 pitches or so, according to Max Goodman of NJ.com.

“I'm feeling really good, so hopefully it's not too many,” Clarke Schmidt said when asked how many rehab starts he thinks he will need.

This is good timing for the Yankees, as Schmidt is seemingly getting close to returning right as Luis Gil went on the 15-day injured list with a back strain after leaving Tuesday's game against the Cleveland Guardians. There had been concerns regarding Luis Gil's workload this season, as he had surpassed his career high in innings.

Schmidt's impending return is welcomed, as he was having a strong season before he suffered his right lat injury early in the season. In 11 games so far this season, Schmidt posted a 2.52 ERA in 60.2 innings of work, according to Baseball Reference. Schmidt got hurt shortly before Gerrit Cole returned to the rotation, with Cody Poteet making a few spot starts, who is also set to do rehab starts soon as well.

With Schmidt built up to 50 pitches, hopefully it does not take long for him to be built up to a normal pitch count.

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How will Yankees rotation look with Clarke Schmidt back

With Schmidt potentially back in the rotation soon, he will join Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman. There was some thought that the Yankees would have Schmidt in the bullpen after he returned, at least in the playoffs, but after Gil's injury that seems less likely. Gil likely would benefit from moving to the bullpen, especially given his innings concern.

When it comes to the postseason rotation, Cole is essentially a lock to pitch the first game, as he is the ace of the staff. Carlos Rodon had a rough outing on Saturday against the Detroit Tigers, but overall has pitched well as of late, and is a likely option for the postseason rotation. The remaining two spots will likely have two of Schmidt, Nestor Cortes or Marcus Stroman.

If Schmidt picks up where he left off, he is likely a no-brainer to make the rotation, and the one performing better the rest of the way between Stroman and Cortes would likely earn the last rotation spot.