Yankees Get Positive News After Cam Schlittler Scare

What has derailed Schlittler — though the Yankees aren't worried about it — is a lat injury. Schlittler said it popped up last season, disappeared after the postseason, and popped up again this Spring. When manager Aaron Boone was asked about it, he gave an optimistic update on his young pitcher.

"I expect him to be good," the manager said, according to the Daily News' Gary Phillips, after their win against the Braves. "I don't think he'll be to 80-90 pitches yet."

Boone went on to say that in the early goings, the Yankees will ease Schlittler back to a full workload. He'll start with a 70 pitch limit and work his way up from there.

One thing that should help with ramping Schlittler up is the schedule. According to Boone, the way it works out, they may not even need a fifth starter to start 2026.

"Even if you're in a piggyback situation for a time or two, sign me up for that," the manager added.

Managing Schlittler's Innings

Last season, Schlittler saw the most innings pitched of his career, be it in the pros or in college. He had 76.2 innings between AA and AAA. Then Schlittler threw 73 innings at the big league level.

The most innings he threw came the year before. In 2024, Schlittler tossed 120 innings between High A, AA, and AAA. That marked the only other time he threw more than 100 innings.

Even if Schlittler were 100%, one would guess that Schlittler's innings would still have been managed at some point. It doesn't seem like the Yankees would make him jump to 200 innings or 30+ starts right away if the opportunity to do so was there for him. That could happen in the future, barring any more health scares, but not this year.

Last season, Schlittler posted a 2.96 ERA in 14 games started. He hopes to improve on that, as well as his workload. Schlittler has all the tools to do so.

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