The New York Yankees made Major League Baseball headlines over the last 24 hours. First they announced on Thursday according to the Associated Press, that starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt of Acworth, Georgia would undergo Tommy John Surgery on Friday. He will miss the rest of the 2025 Major League Baseball regular season and the majority of the 2026 Major League Baseball regular season. Then on Friday, the Yankees announced they were releasing second baseman DJ LeMahieu of Visalia, California. This news is noteworthy because LeMahieu was still set to earn $22 million on his contract, including $15 million in 2026.
Clarke Schmidt
Schmidt had a record of four wins and four losses this season with an earned run average of 3.32. In 14 games and 78 2/3 innings pitched, he gave up 56 hits, 29 earned runs, nine home runs and 30 walks, to go along with 73 strikeouts, seven quality starts and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.09.
Schmidt was fantastic on June 21 in a 9-0 Yankees win over the Baltimore Orioles. He threw seven innings of no-hit baseball, where he only gave up two walks and hit one batter. This was Schmidt’s third straight outing in June where he did not give up an earned run. He also threw six shutout innings in a 6-3 Yankees win over the Kansas City Royals on June 11, and then 7 2/3 shutout innings in a 1-0 Yankees loss to the Los Angeles Angels on June 16.
When did Schmidt get hurt?
Schmidt only pitched three innings last Wednesday before leaving the game with discomfort. He gave up three earned runs and four hits in an 8-5 Yankees loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. This was part of the first four game Blue Jays sweep over the Yankees in Toronto in franchise history. This was also the second time Schmidt has had Tommy John Surgery in his career. He first had Tommy John Surgery in 2017, three years before his Major League debut.
DJ LeMahieu
It was actually a decent offensive season for LeMahieu. He was batting .266, which was 62 points more than last year. He had two home runs and 12 runs batted in. During 45 games, 128 at bats and 142 plate appearances, LeMahieu scored 13 runs and had 34 hits, three doubles, 14 walks, 43 total bases, an on base percentage of .338, and a slugging percentage of .336. LeMahieu is a three-time All-Star and has led the Majors in batting average twice.
