Clarke Schmidt primed to rejoin Yankees after final rehab start

DETROIT — Help is on the way for the Yankees rotation, one arm much sooner than the other. 

Clarke Schmidt is set to make his final rehab start on Thursday with Double-A Somerset, and if that goes well, he would rejoin the rotation next week on either Tuesday or Wednesday against the Royals. 

Luis Gil is also expected to start a throwing program at some point over the next several days, which would mark the end of a nearly six-week shutdown because of a high-grade lat strain.

The reigning AL Rookie of the Year still has a ways to go before he would be in position to join the Yankees — at best, that would likely be sometime in June — but it is a step in the right direction. 

“I think where he’s at in his rehab and how it’s going, he is trending how it’s supposed to be,” manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday before a 4-3 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park. “He seems to be in a pretty good spot. I expect in the next several days he’ll start throwing.” 

Boone did not believe Gil would need an MRI exam to clear him to start throwing. 

Schmidt, meanwhile, is coming back from being slowed in camp with a back issue and then right rotator cuff tendinitis. 

Max Fried delivered a gem on Wednesday, but for the most part, the Yankees rotation has had a rocky start to the season.

Fried’s seven shutout innings marked the first quality start a Yankees starter has recorded through 12 games. 

Paul Goldschmidt went 2-for-5 with a double and has now recorded multiple hits in five of his past six games.

J.C. Escarra drew his second start of the season to give Austin Wells a breather, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

Tyler Matzek (oblique), who pitched in his first rehab game on Sunday at Single-A Tampa, was activated Wednesday at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he is expected to pitch in a handful of games before the Yankees could add him to the roster.