The New York Yankees have yet another injury scare, and it's Brian Cashman's fault.
The New York Yankees opted not to add any relief pitchers at the MLB trade deadline. Why? Because Ryan Weathers was going to end up in the bullpen, and Clarke Schmidt was due to return.
The Yankees were relying on two pitchers with extensive injury histories to solidify their bullpen in October. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong for New York.
Weathers suffered an elbow flexor strain last month and has been sidelined ever since. It now doesn't appear that the left-hander will return before the playoffs, leaving his postseason status in jeopardy.
Schmidt? He suffered a setback at the beginning of August due to forearm cramping. He then finally returned last week and pitched all of one game before ultimately succumbing to biceps cramping while warming up in the bullpen over the weekend.
Naturally, New York ruled him out for the contest.
Schmidt said it was precautionary and that he didn't want to push through, but are we really to think that a pitcher who had been sidelined since last summer after undergoing Tommy John surgery and had made a grand total of 30 appearances between 2024 and 2025 is going to magically rebound and be just fine?
Maybe the right-hander really is okay and will be available sooner than we think, but you can't help but feel that Schmidt's playoff status, much like that of Weathers, is now in limbo.
It make Brian Cashman's mind-boggling decision not to acquire relief help last month that much more egregious, and it moves the Yankees even further away from a deep October run, something that was probably already foreign anyway following Aaron Judge's latest trip to the injured list.
Yes, New York picked up John Schreiber on the waiver wire, and he has certainly helped, logging a 2.00 ERA over eight relief appearances. He will almost certainly be on the postseason roster.
But Schreiber alone isn't enough. Not with Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn burning the candle from both ends and Tim Hill turning into a batting practice machine.
Had Weathers and Schmidt remained healthy, there's no question they would have been able to help. It's the fact that Cashman was whimsically relying on it that's so nonsensical.
I've been a big Cashman defender over the years. I think he's been a very good general manager for a long time. But it's becoming harder and harder to defend his decisions.
Just about every other contending team acquired bullpen help at the trade deadline. Apparently, the Yankees were the only ballclub too good to do so.
