The Yankees have a Cam Schlittler problem, and it showed up in ugly fashion Tuesday night.
For most of the season, the 25-year-old right-hander had looked the part of a Cy Young contender. Against the Tigers, though, he unraveled. Schlittler was tagged for six runs in four innings as New York dropped its sixth straight game, a 9-3 loss in Detroit.
What stood out even more than the runs was how hard the Tigers hit him. Detroit launched four home runs off Schlittler, a stunning turn for a pitcher who had allowed only six homers over his first 17 starts this season. According to the Associated Press, he had never given up more than two home runs in any of his previous 31 MLB starts, and he became the first Yankees pitcher to allow four homers to the Tigers since Chuck Cary in 1989.
That kind of outing puts Brian Cashman in a tricky spot with the Aug. 3 trade deadline looming. The Yankees general manager has two clear paths if he believes Schlittler is starting to wear down.
One is to go after Tarik Skubal.
The Tigers ace handled New York well enough in the same game, allowing one earned run over six innings while striking out nine. He moved to 4-4 with a 3.15 ERA, and the idea of Detroit trading him before the deadline has already kept the Yankees in the rumor mill. Skubal, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, has long been tied to New York.
That talk was easier to brush aside when the Yankees’ rotation looked like a strength. Schlittler, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon gave the club a strong top end, while Max Fried and Clarke Schmidt were on the comeback trail. That left Cashman free to focus on catcher, shortstop and the bullpen.
But if Schlittler really is hitting a wall, the calculus changes fast. Skubal would not come cheap - the Yankees would likely have to part with multiple top-100 prospects for the 29-year-old.
He’s also set to become a free agent after the season, which makes him a short-term play. Still, the left-hander has clearly bounced back from elbow surgery, and he would give New York a rotation edge few teams could match going into October.
There’s also the innings question with Schlittler himself.
He threw 120.2 innings in 2024 across the farm system, then jumped to 149.2 innings in 2025 between the minors and the majors. This year, he’s already at 104 innings, and ESPN projects him to finish at 198 innings before the playoffs even begin.
That’s why the Yankees may have to think about easing off the gas. A reduced workload for Schlittler could help keep him sharp for the postseason, even if it means more strain on the rest of the staff for now.
The results have already shown some drift. Schlittler went 3-1 with a 1.48 ERA in May, then followed with a 1-3 mark and a 3.38 ERA in June. That’s not a collapse, but it is a step in the wrong direction.
If New York does decide to manage his innings, Cashman would need to reinforce the bullpen before the deadline. Relief help is available, and the cost should be lower than what it would take to land a front-line starter. That would leave the Yankees with room to pursue offense for the stretch run.
One thing seems clear already: Cashman isn’t going to sit still. The next four weeks should tell the story of how aggressively he decides to attack both the rotation and the rest of the roster.
In Other News...
Tigers Lineup Turned A Tough Yankees Matchup Into A Statement
Cam Schlittlers roughest night in the majors came at a bad time for the Yankees, who needed something to stop a slide and instead watched Detroit keep pouring it on. The rookie right-hander was tagged for four homers over four innings in a 9-3 loss, a game that fit neatly into a six-game losing streak and turned a promising start to his season into a much tougher line on the ledger.
The outing also nudged Schlittlers ERA from 1.62 to 2.08, a reminder of how quickly one ugly turn can change the shape of a young pitchers early numbers. For New York, the larger concern was how completely the Tigers lineup seized the moment, turning a difficult matchup into a statement while the Yankees kept searching for a response. [Read more 🡒]
Max Fried Just Gave Yankees Fans The Update They Needed
Max Fried took another meaningful step back toward the Yankees rotation on Friday, returning to live batting practice at Yankee Stadium as he continues his recovery from a left elbow bone bruise. The left-hander has been working through a throwing program since being sidelined by elbow soreness on May 13, and the latest session offered a better sign that his ramp-up is moving in the right direction.
The Yankees still want to see more before putting a firm return date on the calendar, and the next checkpoint is already lined up in his progression. Fried is scheduled to build up to two simulated innings and about 30 pitches next, a stretch that should give the club a clearer read on where he stands as the All-Star break approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Just Hit Another Embarrassing Low In This AL East Spiral
A night that started with A.J. Hinch reaching his 1,000th managerial win ended with the Yankees on the wrong side of another discouraging result, this one in Detroit as the slide kept growing. New York has now dropped five in a row and is trying to steady itself after a stretch that has left the offense searching for answers and the club desperate to stop the bleeding before the AL East picture gets any uglier.
The Yankees were held to just one hit off Casey Mize and finished with three hits overall, the kind of outing that has become too familiar during the skid. Up next is another stiff test, with Cam Schlittler lined up to face Tarik Skubal as New York looks for any sign that the bats can wake up before the losing streak turns into something harder to shake. [Read more 🡒]