The Yankees got the kind of Sunday finish that strips away the noise. After the first two games of this year’s final Subway Series set had all the usual chaos - the trolling, the swings, the back-and-forth - Cam Schlittler and the bullpen turned the finale into something cleaner and far more controlled.
Schlittler was the center of it again. He worked 94 pitches, exited after taking another comebacker off the body mid-spin, and still carved up the Mets for one hit, two walks and eight strikeouts.
The lineup he faced has been rolling lately, too, the same one Yankees fans have seen put pressure on starters and top relievers throughout the series. This time, though, the damage never really came.
His numbers keep getting louder. Schlittler’s ERA is now 1.95 with two starts left in the regular season, and he’s already past 184 2/3 innings after throwing 164 last year across the minors, the majors and the postseason.
That workload is enough to make you think about a breather if the Yankees’ place in the standings allows for one. But right now, why would anyone want to slow this down?
Because the conversation around him has gotten ridiculous in the best possible way. Aaron Boone even opened the door to it after the game, saying, "He might be the MVP, too."
That sounds wild until you line up the case. Yordan Álvarez has had a strong season, but not an untouchable one.
He’s at 5.8 bWAR, has mostly DHed, and is chasing the Triple Crown while the numbers have started to wobble. He hit .287 with two homers and an .873 OPS in August, then posted a .714 OPS in September while dealing with an ankle issue.
He’s now two home runs behind Junior Caminero, four RBI behind Pete Alonso, and still leads Chandler Simpson in batting average, .310 to .305.
If Álvarez wins the Triple Crown, that settles one version of the MVP race. If he doesn’t, the door opens wider. Schlittler’s case is no joke: 6.6 bWAR entering Sunday, an ERA under 2.00, and the kind of dominance that has held together a Yankees rotation that has gone without Gerrit Cole, by design, and Max Fried, by surprise, for long stretches.
This wasn’t supposed to be the year that Schlittler became this guy. But he’s now logged 23 starts with either one or zero earned runs allowed, and the Yankees can’t treat that like background noise.
He’s not just having a strong season anymore. He’s forcing the awards conversation to make room for him.
At this point, he should be the favorite for both AL Cy Young and MVP.
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Yankees Avoided The Worst With Cam Schlittler But Concern Remains
Cam Schlittler gave the Yankees exactly the kind of start they needed against the Mets before a scary moment changed the mood at the ballpark. The right-hander was struck in the back of his right hamstring by a 111.5 mph line drive, then left after six scoreless innings, turning what had been a strong outing into an immediate medical check.
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Yankees Just Made Their Bullpen Problem Even More Frustrating
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The bigger problem is what those rules mean in practice for the Yankees timing. Once De Los Santos is optioned, the team cannot recall him for 15 days, which takes away some of the flexibility they might otherwise have in a bullpen built around quick decisions and frequent turnover. In a stretch where the club is also managing upcoming player returns, that kind of limitation can leave a useful reliever stuck on the outside looking in even when he has done enough to merit another shot. [Read more 🡒]