Yankees’ Clarke Schmidt impresses with new cutter: ‘Unlocks him’

TAMPA — Clarke Schmidt added a cutter this offseason in large part to help him attack left-handed hitters. 

Turns out it might be a weapon against righties, too. 

Schmidt debuted the cutter in game action on Sunday and threw it more than any other pitch as he struck out five of the six batters he faced — four of them right-handed hitters — in a 7-0 win over the Braves at Steinbrenner Field. 

“It’s like getting a new car,” Schmidt said. “You’re itching and itching to use it. For me, I was really excited to be able to go out there and throw it. … What a perfect way to try it out is on these righties to see if it really can play. To get the swing and misses against the righties was very, very encouraging.” 

The Braves brought a lineup that featured only one expected starter in Marcell Ozuna. But of his 31 pitches, Schmidt threw 11 cutters, six of them for strikes. That included two swing-and-misses, one of them on a strikeout to the right-handed Ryan Casteel, and he also used it for a called strike three against the left-handed Sam Hilliard. 

It was a strong first impression for Schmidt as he battles Domingo German for the fifth starting spot in the Yankees’ rotation. 

“It was a feature [pitch] for him today and really good,” manager Aaron Boone said. “If that can [continue], which I totally feel like it can, that could be something that really unlocks him. Makes him now in play versus lefties in a longer starting kind of role. He’s looked good and another encouraging step.” 

Schmidt said he is already very comfortable throwing the cutter and that his teammates who have faced him in live batting practice and the Yankees’ analytics staff have been encouraging him to make it a high-usage pitch. 

“I’ve noticed that a lot of hitters are swinging under it because they’re expecting some sink and it stays up with the cut,” Schmidt said. “I think it’s going to be a high-usage pitch on both sides.” 

Deivi Garcia, coming off a rough 2022 in which he posted a 6.89 ERA in 64 innings between Triple-A and Double-A, threw two scoreless innings of relief Sunday, giving up a walk and striking out two. 

“I thought Deivi was great,” Boone said. “He was throwing hard. … Stuff-wise he was really good. 

“It’s February, but signs have been encouraging.” 

Gerrit Cole threw the equivalent of three innings Sunday during a live batting practice session on a back field, facing Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Stanton smacked an opposite-field home run off Cole in the first inning. 

Catcher Austin Wells is still sidelined by a bruised rib, but could start ramping up baseball activities in the next few days. … Bernie Williams and CC Sabathia arrived Sunday as guest instructors, joining Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph.