The New York Yankees head into the 2024 playoffs with the best record in the American League and an American League East title.
Sunday is the last game of the regular season for the Yankees where Clarke Schmidt will take the mound against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Schmidt missed a few months this season with a lat strain but threw over 100 pitches in his last start and appears healthy heading into the playoffs.
According to YES Network’s Nancy Newman and John Flaherty, Schmidt will likely come out of the bullpen in the early rounds of the postseason.
What will Clarke Schmidt's role be in the postseason?
How does the bullpen look for October?@NancyNewmanYES & @flash17yes discuss. #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/vYPWTX7C5y
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 29, 2024
Schmidt has been a starting pitcher all year in 2024 as he has started 15 games for the Yankees with a record of 5 wins and 5 losses.
Flaherty explains that Schmidt will likely be a bullpen piece for the Yankees in the playoffs but has a chance to start games later on in the postseason if the Yankees can advance.
Schmidt has come out of the bullpen before as he appeared in 29 games in 2022 with only 3 of them being games that he started.
The Yankees are fortunate to have the flexibility to use Schmidt in multiple different ways throughout the postseason.
On the year, Schmidt holds a 2.55 earned run average with 88 strikeouts in 81.1 innings pitched.
The 2.55 earned run average is the best of Schmidt’s career thus far since coming into the league in 2020.
As the Yankees finish up the regular season Sunday, they will look to enter the postseason healthy as they search for their first World Series appearance since 2009.
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