The New York Yankees got a solid deal done on Friday night.
With the non-tender deadline approaching, FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray reported that the Yankees avoided arbitration with right-handed pitcher Clarke Schmidt with a one-year deal worth $4.5 million to avoid arbitration.
Yankees fans won’t see Schmidt for a while in 2026. He underwent Tommy John surgery back in July, which will knock him out for at least a chunk of the 2026 campaign. Even though he’ll miss time, it absolutely made sense to tender a deal because he has team control beyond 2026.
The former first-round pick won’t be a free agent until 2028 and logged a 3.07 ERA over the last two seasons in 30 total starts — 16 in 2024 and 14 in 2025.
On top of this, MLB Trade Rumors projected Schmidt’s arbitration salary to be worth $4.9 million. It’s only one outlet’s projection, but each offseason, they are recognized as a reliable resource for arbitration metrics. So, the Yankees got the righty below the projected market value and don’t need to worry about any sort of arbitration hearing or anything of that nature.
This can be viewed as a win early in the offseason for New York.
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