The Yankees have their Wild Card spot locked up, and now the real work starts: lining up the rotation for next week’s AL wild-card round, likely against the Boston Red Sox.
Cam Schlittler is a given for Game 1. He’ll also make one last regular-season start on Thursday so he can come back on regular rest for the opener. But the bigger question has shifted to what comes next, and that answer has changed over the past few weeks.
A month ago, Gerrit Cole and Max Fried seemed like the obvious names to sort out behind Schlittler, with Carlos Rodon sitting third in line. That no longer looks right. Rodon has pushed himself ahead of both of them, and the Yankees can’t really pretend otherwise.
After missing all of July with left elbow inflammation, Rodon returned from the injured list on August 18. His first three outings back were more about rebuilding than dominating, as he couldn’t get through five innings in any of them.
That was part of the process. He needed to stretch back out and sharpen his command.
Since the calendar flipped to September, though, Rodon has been on a different level. In four starts this month, he has thrown 25.1 innings, allowed only 12 hits and five runs, four of them earned, and struck out 28 while walking seven. Even with a pair of outings that included three walks, the stuff has been electric.
Carlos Rodon since returning from IL on Aug 18:7 Starts38 IP39 K / 12 BB1.89 ERA0.82 WHIP.146 opp BA
His latest turn may have been the clearest sign yet. On Tuesday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays, Rodon worked eight shutout innings and faced only one batter more than the minimum.
He struck out eight, didn’t issue a walk, and two of the three hits he surrendered were wiped out by double plays. He did it on just 96 pitches, which means a complete game was at least in play if the Yankees had been working with a bigger cushion.
It might not be a stretch to say this is the sharpest Rodon has looked since arriving in pinstripes, and the timing couldn’t be better.
That said, the postseason résumé still matters, and this is where Rodon trails Cole and Fried. Cole’s last couple of starts have come with some home run trouble, but his October history is still the strongest of the group: a 2.77 ERA and a 29.1% strikeout rate over 22 playoff starts. Fried’s postseason ERA sits at 5.31, though he’s got the kind of signature October moments that stick - six shutout innings in the 2021 World Series clincher for Atlanta, plus 6.1 shutout innings in Game 1 of the Yankees’ Wild Card Series against Boston last year.
Rodon’s playoff track record is rougher. He owns a 7.53 postseason ERA, and his last three playoff starts haven’t helped his case, even with one quality start in Game 2 of the 2025 Wild Card Series. Across seven career playoff starts, he has reached the sixth inning only twice and has failed to get through at least four innings in four of them.
Still, October doesn’t always reward the most decorated arm. It usually rewards the one throwing best right now. And right now, Rodon is the hottest starter on the Yankees’ staff.
That doesn’t bump Schlittler from Game 1. He’s earned that assignment with his season-long dominance. But Rodon has done enough to make the Yankees’ next call pretty clear: he should be the Game 2 starter, whether they’re trying to clinch the series or trying to stay alive.
In Other News...
Yankees Just Got The Playoff Draw They Wanted To Avoid
The Yankees got the kind of October setup they would have preferred to avoid when Tampa Bay clinched the AL East and, with it, home-field advantage in the ALDS. Aaron Boone acknowledged what the Rays accomplished and even sounded open to seeing the clubs meet again, but from New Yorks side the message is hard to miss: this is a tough path, and it gets tougher in a building that has long been unfriendly to visiting teams.
Tropicana Field has been a problem spot for the Yankees for years, and Tampa Bays strong home record only adds to the challenge if the matchup comes together. For a Yankees club still chasing a deep postseason run, the bracket now points toward a division rival that is comfortable in its own park and has already put itself in position to dictate the terms. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Rest-Day Decision Brings A Familiar Late-Season Debate
Ryan McMahon gave the Yankees the kind of early jolt that can change the feel of a game, crushing a third-inning grand slam and finishing with a career-tying five RBIs in a 9-2 win over Tampa Bay. Ben Rice added a pair of solo homers, including a leadoff shot, while Gerrit Cole worked 5 2/3 innings and limited the Rays to two runs as New York kept pace in a game that never really felt in doubt.
The bigger backdrop, though, was Tampa Bays decision to rest some players after clinching the AL East title, the sort of late-season move that always invites the same old debate about competitive balance and the value of playing out the schedule. For the Yankees, it created one more chance to stack a convincing win against a division rival, even if the context made the matchup feel a little different than usual. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Farm System Faces A Bigger Question Than Fans Wanted
MLBs announcement of its 2026 Minor League Baseball Awards finalists put a familiar spotlight on the games deepest systems, and the Yankees were not part of it. New York did not place a player among the finalists for the major individual honors, and it also missed out on the Farm System of the Year conversation, a reminder that the organization is in a very different place than some of its peers.
The Yankees have moved a lot of top prospects in recent trades, while others in the system have already been promoted to the big club or are dealing with injuries. Even so, the absence from this round of national recognition does not mean the pipeline is empty, especially for a team that has continued to lean on homegrown talent at the major league level. The bigger question now is how quickly that next wave can turn promise into impact. [Read more 🡒]