The Yankees have placed right-hander Marcus Stroman on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his left knee, the team announced ahead of Saturday’s game against the Giants at Yankee Stadium.
Stroman was pulled early from Friday night’s rain-shortened 9-1 loss to San Francisco after recording just two outs and giving up five runs. Following the rough outing, he underwent X-rays at the stadium and was later sent to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.
In a corresponding roster move, the Yankees recalled right-hander Allan Winans from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 29-year-old previously pitched for the Braves in 2023 and 2024, posting a 7.20 ERA over eight starts. This season in Triple-A, he’s allowed just one unearned run across 2 2/3 innings.
Stroman’s absence clears the way for Clarke Schmidt to rejoin the Yankees’ starting rotation. Schmidt is expected to take the mound Tuesday or Wednesday against the Royals after making two strong rehab appearances in Double-A Somerset.
“I definitely feel good,” Schmidt said Saturday. “The last two starts were productive. I’m happy with the results, the command, and how everything feels overall.”
Before Stroman’s injury, the Yankees faced tough rotation decisions — possibly demoting Will Warren, who still has Minor League options, or exposing Carlos Carrasco to waivers. Now, those moves can wait.
Signed to a two-year, $37 million deal ahead of the 2024 season, Stroman started strong but faltered in the second half, eventually moving to the bullpen in September and missing postseason action. Since June 1, 2024, he’s posted a 5-8 record and a 6.27 ERA over 21 appearances (20 starts), including a rough start to this season with 12 earned runs over just 9 1/3 innings (11.57 ERA).
Stroman holds a conditional $16 million player option for 2026, which activates if he reaches 140 innings pitched.
Despite the recent struggles, Yankees manager Aaron Boone remains confident in Stroman’s potential.
“I still believe he has what it takes to succeed at this level,” Boone said. “His stuff hasn’t changed much from the first half of last season to now. It’s more about execution. The movement’s there — we just need to make some adjustments and sharpen things up.”
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