Acce s the Yankees beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees. TORONTO As if the Yankees did not have enough problems on their hands, Clarke Schmidt walked off the mound after three innings and 55 pitches Thursday . The announcement that followed was even more ominous right forearm tightne s and now the fate of the right-handers season rests on the results of an MRI exam Friday. By the end of Thursday night, the Yankees had lost their fourth straight game, 8-5, to get swept out of Rogers Centre by the now first-place Blue Jays. The Yankees (48-39) headed back to New York for the Subway Series trailing the Blue Jays (49-38) by a game and tied with the Rays for second place in the AL East after losing for the 14th time in their last 20 games. But that seemed secondary to the concern for Schmidt, who revealed after the game he has been dealing with some version of tightne s in his forearm/elbow area for the past three or four weeks he pinpointed a June 4 start against the Guardians for when it began before it became too much for him to continue pitching through Thursday. Explore More Hopefully, I did the right move and pulled [myself] out early enough, said Schmidt, who always is confident but did not sound overly optimistic. Anytime youre getting an MRI on your forearm or whatever the body part is, youre not feeling happy about it. So Im praying everythings going to be clean and minor, but well see what happens. The Yankees had not send Schmidt, who has dealt with various injuries throughout his career, for any testing since he began experiencing forearm tightne s last month. George Springer, who hit two long balls, belts the first of his two-run homers in the third inning of the Yankees 8-5 lo s to the Blue Jays on July 3, 2025. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images They gave him extra days between starts whenever po sible because he was recovering slower. That included pitching on his seventh day while matching his career high with 103 pitches June 21. The right-hander had Tommy John surgery in 2017 but said he had not dealt with any elbow i sues since then until now. Guys are dealing with stuff all the time throughout the year, Schmidt said when asked about not going for tests before Friday. So if I was to be like, Oh, Im extra sore this week, let me pull the chute, and not go out there and pitch, I dont know if I would ever pitch. Clarke Schmidt, who exited after three innings with forearm tightne s, delivers a pitch during the Brandon Nimmo Jersey Yankees lo s to the Blue Jays. Getty Images CHECK OUT THE AND Manager Aaron Boone indicated Schmidt could end up on the injured list even if the MRI only shows something minor, especially with the All-Star break around the corner. Schmidts emergence as a consistent, reliable starter behind Max Fried and Carlos Rodn has been critical in a season in which the Yankees will not get a single pitch from Gerrit Cole and likely will not get one from Luis Gil until August. They also have Ryan Yarbrough, who had pitched well as a fill-in No. 5 starter, on the injured list with an oblique strain that, as of Tuesday, had not yet allowed him to resume throwing. A pensive Aaron Judge looks on during the Yankees lo s to the Blue Jays. AP The Yankees can get by with four starters into the All-Star break by taking advantage of Mondays off day, but if Schmidt is not ready to go coming out of it, the options to replace him are slim. They could recall Allan Winans (who got hit around by the Reds in a spot start last week), move JT Brubaker into the rotation (though he is no longer fully built up after spending the last two weeks in the bullpen) or reach into Triple-A for another starter (the closest top pitching prospect is Cam Schlittler, but he only just got promoted there last month). There also is the question of whether Schmidts injury, depending on the severity, will force the Yankees to add another starting pitcher by the July 31 trade deadline. Ja son Domnguez, who had four hits, rips a single in the fifth inning of the Yankees lo s to the Blue Jays. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images Clayton Beeter reacts after giving up a home run to Addison Barger during the fifth inning of the Yankees lo s to the Blue Jays. The Canadian Pre s via AP Its tough, Aaron Judge said. Hes one of our best guys, one of our best pitchers. Hes meant so much to our club, especially the run we went on last year. Were not getting to the World Series without him. I gotta talk to him first, but thats a tough one. First, though, comes Fridays MRI exam. Go beyond the box score with the Bombers Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+. Thank you By clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! Just pitch to pitch, I didnt feel 100 percent, Schmidt said. I felt like the whole night I was guarding it a little bit. On the breaking balls and stuff, really not ripping them or trying to get a lot behind them. So I felt like I was cutting some things off, and it was obviously reflecting in my stuff. I was just trying to be smart. Paul Blackburn Jersey