The New York Yankees finalized a one-year, $4.5 million contract with Clarke Schmidt on Friday, keeping the right-hander with the team for the 2026 season while avoiding arbitration (h/t MLB.com's Mark Feinsand). The 29-year-old will enter his seventh Major League season with the Yankees, having spent his entire six-year career in the Bronx.
Schmidt was off to a promising start in 2025 before a season-ending injury intervened. In 14 starts, he maintained a 3.32 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and struck out 73 batters while walking 30 in 78.2 innings, finishing with a 4-4 record. His season ended prematurely in mid-July following a torn ulnar collateral ligament in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, necessitating Tommy John surgery, the second procedure of this type in his career.
At their 2025 post-season press conference, New York general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone indicated that Schmidt will not resume throwing until December, leaving his exact 2026 return timeline uncertain, though a second-half comeback remains the goal.
The Yankees confront a rotation that will test their depth in 2026. Right-handed pitcher Gerrit Cole, who also underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2025, will be back later in the season, while left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodon is unavailable at the start of the year due to a separate procedure. New York is likely to explore additional rotation options through free agency and trades to strengthen their pitching staff.
Besides Schmidt, the Yankees agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.2 million with utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera, who missed most of 2025 with a fractured left ankle.
Meanwhile, the team non-tendered five pitchers, Mark Leiter Jr., Michael Arias, Jake Cousins, Scott Effross, and Ian Hamilton, making them unrestricted free agents. Also, New York tendered contracts to eight arbitration-eligible players, including Jazz Chisholm Jr., David Bednar, Luis Gil, Anthony Volpe, Jose Caballero, Camilo Doval, Fernando Cruz, and Jake Bird.
