"I'm thankful to still be here" - Clarke Schmidt happy to be in pinstripes, focused on Yankees season following off-season Padres rumors

Clarke Schmidt is set to take the ball in the series finale against the San Diego Padres. Rather than being a member of the Padres trying to stave off a sweep, he is with the New York Yankees and will try to complete that three-game winning streak. That wasn't something he thought was going to be the case during the offseason.

Trade talks between the Padres and Yankees lasted for a long time, and several pitchers were to be moved if a deal was ever made. Schmidt certainly thought it was going to be him.

“I thought I was definitely gonna be probably involved in that, for sure ... I’m thankful to still be here,” Schmidt said via the New York Daily News. “I’m definitely where my feet are and kind of enjoying where I’m at right now and focused on what I’ve got going on over here.”

Instead, the Yankees sent Michael King to the Padres as the centerpiece, and Schmidt continued to develop into quite the pitcher in the Bronx.

To get a player of Juan Soto's caliber, talent must be sent in return. The Yankees felt that they had to send King as the centerpiece, but they reportedly never considered packaging both their young pitchers in the trade.

Schmidt, in his first career year, is glad to be a Yankee and will try to pitch well against the team he almost traded to in the offseason.

---

Clarke Schmidt opens up on adjustments to become a starter

Clarke Schmidt was a reliever for the New York Yankees before they spent the entire 2023 season stretching him out and trying to develop him as a starting pitcher. It worked, but it wasn't a linear growth plan.

Clarke Schmidt

Schmidt said the expectations in New York were that he and everyone else should be great right off the bat. Players must win now and perform well, and that does make it harder.

"There are guys that come in the league and they do really good and then you see that next year or the year after that, maybe there’s a major adjustment period," Schmidt said.

"There’s always adjustments that you have to make, whether you have it figured out early and then you have to make adjustments or the [other way around]. For me it was kind of the latter."

Schmidt is still adjusting, but he's been a positive contributor to a Yankees rotation that has not missed a beat, despite reigning Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole having thrown zero pitches this year.