NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 25: Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees reacts after a double play ended the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals at Yankee Stadium on August 25, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
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The New York Yankees are hoping for some impactful pitching reinforcements next season, but they might have to be patient.
The team is expected to open the season with Max Fried, Will Warren and Luis Gil ready to go, but after undergoing surgeries, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Clark Schmidt might not be able to pitch until well after Opening Day. And that means the Yankees will likely be relying on standout rookie Cam Schlittler to take another step forward in his development.
In his first taste of the big leagues this past season, Schlittler posted a strong 2.96 ERA across 14 starts. Then, in the first postseason start of his career during an American League Wild Card round matchup against the Boston Red Sox, he logged 12 strikeouts and gave up no earned runs in eight stellar innings.
But even though he was impressive on the mound, he grabbed more headlines for some comments he made about the Yankees’ hated rival.
Shortly after the Yankees’ season ended, Schlittler was caught on camera sending a decisive three-word message about Boston while signing autographs alongside Yankees legend Derek Jeter. The interaction went viral on social media and underscored that, even though Schlittler is a Massachusetts native, his loyalty lies with the Yankees.
“The Yankees’ promising young right-hander … had a Bronx-style message for his hometown,” as Justin Terranova put it for the New York Post. “The exchange was caught on video by a friend of the fan and quickly spread across social media.”
After his three-word message garnered some significant attention, Schlittler continued to engage with fans on X, formerly Twitter. Most recently, the pitcher took to the platform to defend his loyalty to another one of Boston’s major sports teams.
However, that could be the last message that Yankees and Red Sox fans see from the pitcher, after he vowed to stay off of the platform until the baseball offseason ramps up.
“If I’m going to talk, I’m gonna make sure I back it up, and that’s not something I can really do in the offseason,” Schlittler told the New York Daily News’ Gary Phillips in his first comments explaining his decision to refrain from posting on the platform. “Once the season comes back around and I’m able to back that stuff up, if I need to talk, then I’ll talk.”
It sounds like Schlittler won’t shy away from expressing himself freely once he returns to the mound for the Yankees. And fans of the team are certainly hoping that he will continue to back up his comments with some more progress from the bump next season.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterchawaga/2025/12/01/yankees-star-rookie-explains-going-dark-after-viral-3-word-red-sox-message/
