Yankees' Clarke Schmidt likely to require Tommy John surgery

It looks like the Yankees will be without another valuable rotation arm for an extended period.

An initial MRI on Clarke Schmidt's right elbow revealed that the starter is likely dealing with a torn UCL which is expected to require Tommy John surgery.

The team is sending him for further testing on Saturday to confirm the disappointing news.

"He's gonna have to have surgery," Aaron Boone said. "He's getting second opinions and things now, but obviously not great news on that front -- we'll see what goes on here in the next couple of days."

Schmidt left Thursday's outing against the Blue Jays after just three innings, and he was placed on the injured list just one day later with what the team called right elbow inflammation.

“Earlier on in the game it felt okay,” the righty told reporters. “As the game progressed, it sort of tightened up a little bit on me. I felt like the whole night I was kind of guarding it a little bit on the breaking balls, really not ripping them or trying to get a lot behind them."

While the beginning to Schmidt's season was delayed a few weeks due to rotator cuff tendinitis, he's produced numbers reflective of a new and improved pitcher.

As one of the Yankees' most reliable starters, the 29-year-old has logged a 3.32 ERA across 14 starts, and he wrapped up June with a laudable 1.95 ERA across five outings.

"He's become a real good starting pitching in this league," Boone said. "It's a tough blow, but every team has their share of these things that happen and we've gotta be able to absorb it and hopefully get some guys back in the mix soon."

The team is still working through who will take his spot in the rotation.