SAN FRANCISCO — When it comes to Yankees pitchers having lat strains, Luis Severino is something of an expert.
So while Severino is now across town playing for the Mets, Clarke Schmidt talked to his former teammate and good friend on Thursday morning after being diagnosed with his own right lat strain that could keep him out at least two months.
During his Yankees tenure, Severino dealt with lat strains of varying degrees in 2019, 2022 and 2023. His advice that stuck with Schmidt the most?
Clarke Schmidt is on the Yankees’ injured list with a lat strain.JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
“Everybody recovers different, everybody’s body’s different, but I think nipping it in the bud and making sure it’s healed is the No. 1 thing,” Schmidt said before the Yankees opened a series against the Giants with a 6-2 win on Friday. “Thankfully, this is not a thing that needs surgery or anything like that. It’s just one of those things where you want to make sure you’re healthy so you don’t have to deal with this down the stretch and in the playoffs.
“I’m obviously going to do every single thing that I can to expedite this process and make it quicker to be able to get back out there. Obviously being smart, but I really want to help this team down the stretch and win big games and playoff games. So just making sure we’re good down the stretch is a big deal.”
Schmidt said he also spoke with Gerrit Cole, who has “had something similar with the lat in the past,” and other pitchers around the league who reached out to him about the injury.
Luis Severino is now pitching for the Mets.USA TODAY Sports
Manager Aaron Boone said that Schmidt would be shut down for four to six weeks, though Schmidt — true to his confident nature — seemed to think there was some wiggle room there, calling it a “soft timeline.”
The right-hander is hoping to be reevaluated around the three-week mark and potentially begin throwing again in three to four weeks.
The Yankees traded Triple-A catcher Luis Torrens to the Mets on Friday for cash considerations — $100,000, according to The Post’s Joel Sherman.
Gerrit Cole has also dealt with lats strains during his career.JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
Torrens could have requested his release if the Yankees had not put him on their big league roster by June 15.
The 28-year-old Torrens — who signed with the Yankees as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela before returning to the organization this winter — had a solid spring training before going to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and hitting .279 with a .807 OPS in 30 games.
This marked the Yankees’ first trip to Oracle Park since 2019.
Early Friday afternoon, Nestor Cortes was one of a few Yankees personnel who made their way out to the right field seats to get a better view of McCovey Cove.
Former Yankees OF Estevan Florial was designated for assignment Friday by the Guardians.
