GERRIT COLE-APSE: IS HE STILL AN ACE?

There's two weeks left in the regular season and Gerrit Cole is scheduled to make two more starts in that stretch. If that doesn't make you nervous.....it should. He's set to pitch against the Diamondbacks and the Rays. The last thing I am comfortable with right now is Cole pitching against the Rays in a game that could mean the difference in winning the division or just being a Wild Card.

What the hell is going on with Cole? The guy that was once our ace looks like a shell of himself. It's hard not to ask some tough questions after watching him give up four home runs against the Padres and then three this past weekend against the Mets. This is definitely a problem that Matt Blake and the Yankees need to fix NOW.

The good news is, Cole knows he needs to make those adjustments, read more HERE. The bad news though? We are out of time to tinker with mechanics. Granted, Cole has historically been a quick study and has made adjustments quickly throughout his career but the Rays are around the corner. The Yankees are four games behind them and this four game series against them will be the difference between being a division winner or just securing an invitation to the postseason as a Wild Card. Everything is on the line.

So a short time line and a stumbling ace are not working in our favor. Ordinarily, we might be able to ride something out and exercise some patience but we don't have that luxury. Cole is faltering at the wrong time. Right now, the Yankees best starters are Carlos Rodon, Max Fried and Cam Schlittler and the guy that is supposed to be the ace looks like he is a fourth or fifth starter.

Meanwhile, Schlittler is a favorite for Cy Young (as he should be) and is pulling the weight that a Ace should. It's hard to watch the guy that has been the anchor of your rotation falter. It's a reminder that at some point injuries or just age catch up to you and at a newly 36 years old, could we be seeing the start of his regression?

I hope now is not the time for the regression that comes for every great baseball player. But I have to ask at this point....is Cole still our ace? Is he still the guy that we can count on or is there a new Ace on this team?

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

SCHLITTLER OWNS NEW YORK

The Yankees didn’t need much offense today. When Cam Schlittler pitches like this, apparently two runs will do.

The Yankees beat the Mets 2-0 in the rubber game of the Subway Series, and once again Schlittler looked less like a young pitcher figuring things out and more like the guy everybody else is trying to figure out.

Six innings. One hit. No runs. Eight strikeouts. His ERA dropped to a ridiculous 1.95, best in the majors.

Ben Rice got things started immediately, launching his 38th homer of the season in the first inning. Austin Wells — yes, Austin Wells — finally escaped an ugly 0-for-20 skid by going deep in the third. Those two swings were enough.  Don't worry, this dude's still only batting .179.  Like how embarrassing.

And that’s really the story.

Schlittler shut them down. Rice keeps raking. Wells finally woke up. The bullpen finished the job.

Yankees win the series and improve to 86-63.

Unfortunately, Tampa Bay keeps winning too, so the Yankees remain four games behind the Rays in the AL East.

There’s not much season left.

Keep winning.

Keep pushing.

And maybe — just maybe — make Tampa Bay sweat a little.

JUDGE RETURNS & THE YANKEES KEEP ROLLING

Aaron Judge is back. Finally.

The Yankee captain returned Tuesday night after missing 100 days, and while he went 0-for-3, nobody cares about the box score right now. Judge is healthy, he’s in right field, and the Yankees beat Colorado 5-3.

QUICK HITS: Judge is back. That’s the headline. Now stay healthy.

Cam Schlittler shoved: 7 innings, 1 earned run, 10 strikeouts. The kid continues to be the real deal.
Ryan McMahon ripped an RBI double to put the Yankees ahead.
Heliot Ramos delivered the dagger — a three-run bomb in the eighth.
David Bednar closed it out for save No. 32.

The Yankees are 82-62. September is here. Judge is back.

Enough excuses. Go win the damn thing.

CAM SHOVES AS YANKEES TAKE THE SERIES

The Yankees beat the Angels 6–3 in 10 innings Wednesday night, taking the series and escaping Anaheim with another important win.

Cam Schlittler was magnificent. Eight innings. Two hits. One run. Nine strikeouts. No walks. He retired 20 of the first 21 hitters he faced and lowered his American League-leading ERA to 2.04. Schlittler didn’t merely give the Yankees a chance—he carried them until the offense finally woke up. The kid is becoming a great major-league pitcher right before our eyes.

Then came the 10th inning. With two outs and the bases loaded, Austin Wells slapped a two-run single into right field to break the tie. Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Ben Rice followed with RBI singles as the Yankees hung a five-spot on the Angels.

Tip your cap to Wells. It was a clutch hit in a big moment. But let’s keep the parade under control. Wells is still batting an awful, horrendous .190. One big hit doesn’t suddenly turn him into Jorge Posada or Thurman Munson. Those were championship catchers who produced when it mattered over entire seasons—not once every few weeks.

Celebrate the hit. Praise the moment. Just don’t confuse one clutch swing with greatness. Write that down.

This game belonged to Cam Schlittler. That’s a series win. Pack the bags and keep moving.

SCHLITTLER SLAMS THE DOOR ON BOSTON

Sometimes you don’t need 10 runs. Sometimes you just need Cam Schlittler.

The Yankees beat the Red Sox 1-0 Friday night, and Schlittler was the story. The kid went 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowed just two hits and struck out eight, while picking up his 200th strikeout of the season. His ERA dropped to an AL-best 2.09.

And against Boston? Even sweeter.

The only offense came from Paul Goldschmidt, who launched a solo homer in the third inning. From there, the Yankees protected that one lousy run like it was the last cannoli at Sunday dinner.

Cody Bellinger made the play of the night, firing a 99.7 mph strike from left field to nail Ceddanne Rafaela at the plate and preserve the lead. David Bednar handled the ninth for save No. 31.

Final: Yankees 1, Red Sox 0.

Not pretty. Not explosive.

But beating Boston behind Schlittler?

Beautiful.

LOOK WHO'S CREEPING UP THE AL EAST!

This is getting interesting.

The Yankees beat Toronto 3-1, have now won nine of their last 13, and suddenly they're just three games out of first place in the AL East. Yes, these Yankees. Go figure.

Spencer Jones stayed hot, launching his seventh homer and going deep for the second straight game. Toronto even challenged it after Jones admired his work for a moment. Nice try. Still gone.

Cam Schlittler wasn't exactly cruising, but he battled through traffic and made pitches when he needed them. José Caballero added a sacrifice fly, Brent Headrick escaped a late jam and David Bednar finished it off for save No. 30.

But forget the individual numbers for a second. The Yankees are simply playing good baseball right now — and they're gaining ground.

That's what makes this 10-game homestand so important. They're home, they're hot and first place is suddenly sitting right there within reach. This is the major opportunity. Let's hope Boone doesn't mess this up.

Don't just make the AL East race interesting. Go take the damn thing.

CASHMAN BUILT IT. BOONE CAN’T FIX IT.

The Yankees lost to Toronto 4-1 Saturday. Four hits. One run. Two runs over their last 27 innings. Read that again.

This isn't a slump anymore. This is an offense with a missing-person report. And even the one run deserves some context. Spencer Jones led off the second with a single, stole second, and George Lombard Jr. brought him home with an RBI single to left.

There it was. 1-0 Yankees.

Enjoy it. That was the entire offensive highlight reel.

Cam Schlittler gave them 5 1/3 innings of one-run baseball and struck out seven. Once again, Yankee pitching kept them alive while the offense showed up carrying pool noodles instead of bats. How many games are these pitchers supposed to win 1-0?

And then there's Aaron Boone. What exactly is he managing? Where are the adjustments? Where's the urgency? This offense keeps disappearing and Boone keeps showing up afterward with another explanation.

Enough. You're the manager. Manage. But this goes higher. Brian Cashman made his deadline moves, shuffled the furniture and supposedly improved the Yankees. So I'll ask the obvious question:

Did Brian Cashman actually make this team better? Because it sure as hell doesn't feel like it.

Toronto used seven pitchers Saturday. Seven. The Yankees countered with four singles and one lousy run. That's embarrassing. This is August. The Yankees aren't supposed to be "figuring it out." They're supposed to be gearing up for October.

Instead, we're wondering where the next run is coming from. That's why Yankee fans should be entering panic mode.

Blue Jays 4. Yankees 1.

Cashman built it. Boone manages it. And right now, this thing looks broken.

KING OF THE BRONX!

Every once in a while, a young pitcher takes the mound, and you can almost feel that something special is about to happen.

Friday night was one of those nights.

Cam Schlittler didn't simply outpitch the Phillies. He flat-out embarrassed one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball. Twelve strikeouts. Zero walks. More than seven scoreless innings. Against Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and a lineup that can ruin a pitcher's evening in a heartbeat, Schlittler never blinked.

Think about that for a second.

This wasn't some rebuilding club swinging at bad pitches. This was a veteran team with legitimate World Series aspirations. And for most of the night, they looked completely lost.

That's what great pitching does.

Schlittler pounded the strike zone from the first inning, worked quickly, trusted his stuff, and attacked hitters instead of nibbling around the edges. His fastball exploded through the zone, his secondary pitches kept hitters guessing, and every time the Phillies looked like they might build a little momentum, Schlittler slammed the door shut.

You couldn't help but smile watching it unfold.

The Yankees have been searching for homegrown starting pitching they can truly build around for years. Fans have heard the hype before. They've watched prospects arrive with enormous expectations only to disappear just as quickly.

Cam Schlittler doesn't look overwhelmed. He looks comfortable. More importantly, he looks like he expects to dominate. That's a completely different mindset, and it's showing every single time he takes the ball.

The Yankees' offense didn't exactly make life easy. Paul Goldschmidt supplied the only run of the game with a solo blast, leaving almost no margin for error. One mistake could have changed everything.

Schlittler never gave the Phillies that opportunity.

He trusted his defense, trusted his catcher, trusted his stuff, and kept firing strike after strike. No panic. No free passes. No unnecessary drama.

Just baseball the way it's supposed to be played.

When Aaron Boone finally walked to the mound in the eighth inning, Schlittler left the mound after putting together one of the most impressive pitching performances we've seen from a Yankees rookie in a long, long time.

The bullpen finished the job, but make no mistake—this game belonged to Cam Schlittler. Maybe the biggest takeaway isn't the 12 strikeouts. Maybe it's how ordinary he made greatness look.

That's what separates good pitchers from potential aces. Great pitchers make elite hitters look uncomfortable. Great pitchers control the pace of the game. Great pitchers pitch like they know they're the best player on the field.

Schlittler checked every one of those boxes. The Yankees still have plenty of questions to answer as this season rolls along. There will be ups and downs. There always are. But one thing suddenly feels different. Every fifth day, the Yankees aren't just sending another starter to the mound. They're sending out a young pitcher who is beginning to look like he could anchor this franchise for years to come.

If this is the beginning of Cam Schlittler's story in pinstripes, baseball better start paying attention.

This kid is taking over.

CABALLERO WINS BIG & BOONE WILL PUT VOLPE BACK IN THE LINEUP TODAY

The New York Yankees desperately needed something positive after what can only be described as a disastrous stretch of baseball.

Entering their series against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees had dropped nine of their previous ten games, watching their grip on the American League East disappear while fans grew increasingly frustrated with an offense that had gone cold and a team that simply looked lifeless. It wasn't just the losses—it was the way they were losing. Poor situational hitting, inconsistent defense, and an inability to generate momentum had turned one of baseball's most talented rosters into a team searching for answers.

Then came Monday night's 5-1 victory over Tampa Bay. On paper, it looked like the kind of win that could change a season.

José Caballero, facing his former team, delivered the game of his life by crushing two home runs and driving in four runs. Cam Schlittler dominated for eight innings, allowing just one run while striking out eight without issuing a walk. Ben Rice added a ninth-inning home run as the Yankees earned one of their biggest wins in weeks. Despite striking out 17 times as a team, New York made the few hits it managed count—all three of them left the ballpark.  By the way 17 times striking out in one game for one team is HORRENDOUS. But what are the Yankees doing about it? 

But I'm getting ahead of myself. There was another storyline that immediately caught my attention.

Anthony Volpe wasn't in the starting lineup. Instead, Aaron Boone handed the shortstop job to José Caballero, and of course, he should have.

The result? Caballero responded with arguably the biggest offensive performance by a Yankees shortstop this season.

Now, here's where my opinion begins. I don't expect this lineup change to last. In fact, I fully expect Anthony Volpe to be right back in the lineup today.

Why?

Because, in my view, this follows a pattern we've seen from Aaron Boone over the past several seasons. Whenever pressure begins mounting around Volpe's struggles, Boone will occasionally sit him for a game. If the Yankees happen to win, many fans naturally focus on the victory itself rather than questioning whether the lineup looked different for a reason. Then, almost immediately, Volpe returns to his everyday role.

That's not reporting—it's simply how I've interpreted Boone's handling of the situation over time. Many fans see it differently, but from my perspective, Boone has consistently shown an extraordinary level of commitment to Volpe regardless of his performance. It's creepy to be honest.

I believe it traces back to the Yankees' evaluation of Volpe as a franchise cornerstone. The organization invested years promoting him as the future face of its infield. If Volpe ultimately fails to become that player, it raises uncomfortable questions about the Yankees' scouting, player evaluation, and development process. Again, that's my opinion.

Organizations rarely admit they were wrong about a highly touted prospect, especially one they've marketed as heavily as Volpe. In my view, continuing to play him every day becomes easier than acknowledging that the original evaluation may have missed the mark. Monday night's game only reinforced that belief for me. They're all in on it.

The Yankees finally removed Volpe from the lineup. Caballero stepped in. The offense immediately received an unexpected spark. Does one game prove Caballero should become the everyday shortstop?

No, but it should. But the Yankees don't work that way. One great night doesn't erase an entire season of statistics, nor does one poor stretch define a player's career.

But it does raise a fair question: If replacing Volpe for one night produced one of the Yankees' best individual offensive performances from the shortstop position this year, why isn't there more Caballero at SS?

I expect Boone to return to Volpe. If Volpe is back in today's lineup, it won't surprise me at all. Tons of us fans will point to Caballero's huge night as proof the Yankees found a spark. This is a fact Cab brings the energy. But while we are all distracted with the win today, I'll be watching to see Boone immediately return Volpe, with his extended struggles, back at Short and the excuse was "we just needed to rest him". For me, that's become one of the defining stories of this Yankees season.

Not because Anthony Volpe can't become a productive major league player. He might, but I doubt it. No, there's more to it.  In my opinion, Aaron Boone has reached a point where his commitment to Volpe appears unwavering, regardless of what the results on the field suggest.

One win over the Rays was badly needed. Whether Boone actually learned anything from it is another question entirely.

KEEP HATING ON US

I like Cam Schlittler. I really do. The kid has electric stuff, and I think he's going to be a very good major league pitcher.

But every time he has a rough outing, my mind immediately goes back to March.

Remember that tweet? "Keep hating on us."

March.

Not October. Not after clinching a division. Not after winning a pennant. Certainly not after a World Series parade.

March.

That's the kind of tweet you fire off after accomplishing something meaningful. Instead, it came after a strong March performance. To me, that wasn't confidence. It was a young pitcher feeling himself a little too much after one good day at the office.

Fast forward to the end of June, and baseball is reminding everyone why it's a six-month marathon instead of a weekend sprint.

Schlittler had one of those nights against the Tigers. Detroit teed off, launching five home runs in a 9-3 beatdown at Yankee Stadium. Meanwhile, Tarik Skubal looked every bit like the ace he's become, carving through the Yankees with the poise you'd expect from someone who's actually earned the right to carry himself with swagger.

Schlittler will be fine. Great pitchers have bad nights. Every ace gets humbled eventually. That's baseball. But that March tweet? It still hangs around like an embarrassing Facebook memory you wish would stop popping up.

Because baseball has a funny way of cashing receipts. Of course, Schlittler isn't the biggest problem in the Bronx. That title still belongs to Aaron Boone.

The Yankees have now dropped six straight games, and somehow Boone continues to sound like everything is "right in front of us." At some point, "right in front of us" becomes "right behind us" in the standings.

Every Yankees fan knows the script by now. The regular season offers enough talent to stay competitive. Then October arrives, Boone makes one or two head-scratching decisions, and everyone spends the offseason wondering how the same movie got made again.

It's become baseball's version of Groundhog Day.

The roster has flaws, too. Anthony Volpe continues to provide too many automatic outs, the offense disappears for stretches that feel like entire weekends, and the pitching staff is learning that potential doesn't automatically translate into consistency.

As for Schlittler, hopefully this outing serves as a reminder that baseball has a long memory and an even longer schedule.

The season isn't won in March, no matter how good your spring training ERA looks.

Just ask the Yankees. A few weeks ago, they looked like one of baseball's best teams. Today they're sitting in second place, riding a six-game losing streak, and discovering that this game has a cruel sense of humor.

Maybe next time, save the victory lap until there's actually a trophy involved. Oh, and remember something. I will never truly rip on Yankee players, except for maybe kid shortstops who don't belong there. What bothers me the most about the Yankees is NOT the players, the front office that forgot what baseball is and has no grasp on how to make a great team.  That is who I am hating on Cam... if you must know.  

ENOUGH EXCUSES. FIRE BOONE ALREADY.

The Yankees didn't just lose three straight games to the Red Sox. They looked completely unprepared, fundamentally unsound, and utterly incapable of responding once things started going sideways. That's no longer just a bad series—it's become the identity of this team.

Boston swept New York by exposing every flaw the Yankees have tried to ignore all season. The offense disappeared. The starting rotation failed to set the tone. The defense gave away outs and runs. And perhaps most alarming, there never seemed to be any sense that someone was capable of stopping the bleeding.

That falls on Aaron Boone.

One of the biggest responsibilities of a manager isn't filling out the lineup card—it's steering the club through adversity. Every team hits rough patches. Championship managers recognize when something isn't working and adjust. Boone continues to do the opposite. He sticks with the same struggling players, repeats the same messaging, and waits for things to magically fix themselves. That's not leadership. That's hoping talent bails you out.

The Yankees scored just five runs during the first three games of the series while Boston piled up 16. Their lineup was embarrassed by rookie left-handers, including Jake Bennett, who carved through a veteran offense as if he were facing a Triple-A lineup. The Yankees looked late on fastballs, fooled by breaking balls, and completely devoid of any offensive plan.

Then there was the defense.

Mental mistakes extended innings. Routine plays became adventures. Miscommunication cost the Yankees outs they desperately needed. Good baseball teams don't continually beat themselves. The Yankees did exactly that all weekend.

Even Gerrit Cole couldn't stop the slide. When your ace can't keep you in the game early, the offense has to answer. Instead, the lineup offered almost nothing, constantly putting itself into early deficits it had no chance of overcoming.

Anthony Volpe's struggles have become impossible to ignore.

Across the three-game sweep, Volpe went just 1-for-10 with five strikeouts, hitting .100 while once again failing to deliver in key situations. On June 25, he struck out twice and came up empty with runners in scoring position. On June 26, he managed one hit but punched out twice against another rookie starter. By June 27, he finished 0-for-4 as Jake Bennett completely neutralized him along with the rest of the Yankees lineup.

The bigger question isn't whether Volpe is struggling.

Everyone can see that.

The real question is why Boone continues to pencil him into the lineup every single day without any accountability. At some point, performance has to matter. If a player consistently isn't producing, continuing to hand him everyday at-bats sends the message that results don't matter.

Austin Wells isn't helping either.

Over the series, Wells failed to record a hit, finishing 0-for-4. He also played a role in one of the weekend's most frustrating defensive moments when a routine pop-up dropped between him and Cam Schlittler because of poor communication. Offensively, he offered little resistance as Boston's pitching dominated New York from start to finish.

Yet Boone continues to run the same lineup onto the field expecting different results.

That's where the front office deserves just as much criticism.

Brian Cashman assembled this roster. He built a lineup with glaring holes and has watched those weaknesses become more obvious by the week. The Yankees continue to rely on struggling hitters at premium positions while expecting everything else to simply work itself out.

Where are the adjustments?

Where is the urgency?

Where is the accountability?

Instead, the organization seems content to let the season drift while hoping established veterans suddenly rediscover their swings and young players magically figure everything out at the major league level.

That's not a championship strategy. It's wishful thinking. I am convinced we will limp into the playoffs and not win the World Series.  Hate to be a hater, but I hate this front office.

The Yankees love talking about championship standards, but standards require consequences. When players consistently struggle, changes have to be made. When the offense repeatedly disappears, solutions have to be found. When the manager can't pull the team out of prolonged slumps, leadership has to be questioned.

Right now, the Yankees have none of those answers.

The Red Sox didn't just beat New York, they exposed an organization that looks stuck—stuck with a manager who struggles to navigate adversity, stuck with a front office that refuses to address obvious problems, and stuck believing that tomorrow will somehow be different despite doing the exact same thing every day.

Until that changes, so will the results.

UP SCHLITT'S CREEK?

Cam Schlittler has been one of the best stories of the Yankees' season. The stuff is electric, the poise has been impressive, and perhaps most importantly, he's shown the kind of command that usually takes young pitchers years to develop.

But there's a fine line between confidence and cockiness.

I was one of the first people to roll my eyes when Schlittler was tweeting "Keep hating on us" back in March. MARCH. The Yankees were playing well, sure, but maybe pump the brakes a little. In reality, this kid hadn't accomplished anything then. Now he's getting real good, he's going to be great, but alittle early to act like Cy Young, no? 

There's a reason veterans always say this game humbles you. Baseball has a funny way of finding anyone who starts believing their own headlines.

That's why Tuesday night's outing against the Guardians caught my attention.  For the first time this season, Schlittler looked mortal. Cleveland tagged him for five runs, four earned, on five hits in just 4.1 innings. He struck out only three batters, marking the first time since September of last year that he'd allowed more than three runs in a start.

One bad outing isn't a crisis. Every great pitcher gets knocked around eventually. The bigger concern was what happened underneath the box score. Schlittler's fastball averaged 96.8 mph, roughly one mile per hour lower than normal. His cutter, sinker, and curveball also showed velocity drops. Across the board, his stuff just wasn't quite as sharp.

According to the New York Post, the dip was largely attributed to mechanical inconsistencies affecting his four-seam fastball, which then dragged down his overall velocity. Aaron Boone noted that it was the second straight start in which Schlittler struggled to find a consistent feel for his mechanics. While some wondered about arm fatigue, Schlittler insisted there were no injury concerns and no structural soreness.

That's encouraging. But it's still something worth monitoring. Look, the league adjusts. That's what it does. Every young pitcher looks unhittable until major-league hitters start collecting data, studying tendencies, and making counter-adjustments. Then comes the real test.

Can you adjust back? I actually think Schlittler can. He seems smart enough and competitive enough to make those changes. One rough start doesn't suddenly erase months of success. Still, maybe this is a reminder that baseball isn't conquered in March.

Thankfully, Gerrit Cole has looked exceptional since returning, giving the Yankees some stability if Schlittler experiences a few bumps along the way.

And if there's a lesson here, it's a simple one: don't start taking victory laps before you've run the race. Confidence is necessary. Every successful pitcher has it. But when you're a kid with barely any major-league experience, acting like you've already arrived can come back to bite you.

As for Schlittler, maybe he's still the real deal. Maybe this is nothing more than a temporary mechanical hiccup. I believe that over time he will be a true monster and success story, but I'm a realist.

Look, for months, Yankees fans have been calling him "the Schlitt."

The next few starts will tell us whether he really is the Schlitt—or whether the honeymoon phase is officially over.

DO THE YANKEES HAVE A CHANCE TO SNAG TARIK SKUBAL?

Everyone is watching, waiting and wondering what the Detroit Tigers are going to do this summer, especially me. The Tigers are at the bottom of the AL Central which means the Tigers might be ready to move Tarik Skubal soon.

This season feels like it is moving faster than normal. Summer is here which means in a couple of months the trade deadline will be here. Teams will be looking to bolster their rosters for a postseason run and the Tigers and Skubal could be parting ways soon and another team could get a VERY good, shiny new rotation piece. 

"It's trending that way. Talking with people around the game, that is their feeling," Rosenthal said when asking if a Skubal trade on Saturday’s MLB on FOX pregame show was realistic. "The outlook right now is rather bleak, and honestly, it's difficult to imagine them making up a 14-game under .500 deficit, getting back to .500, and then contending even in a weak American League. So the question becomes, 'Will Skubal be healthy enough?' It's what we don't know." Read more HERE.

That is a wild card, but if he is what an amazing instant upgrade. Before Skubal hit the Injured List he had a 2.70 ERA on a terrible Tigers team that doesn't score a lot of runs. It would be fun to watch what he could do on a team with a more potent offense. It would be even nicer to have Skubal plug into a rotation with Max Fried and Gerrit Cole. But is THAT realistic?

Probably not for more than one reason. I'm sure Brian Cashman will be listening like he always does but if Fried's elbow injury is just a contusion and he comes back healthy the Yankees have other strong pieces like Cam Schlittler, Carlos Rodon and progressing Will Warren. The Yankees have some strong pieces in the rotation, there wouldn't be a great need to trade top prospects to get a short rental for Skubal. So there's reason number one.

When you look at the Yankees trade chips, they have some pieces but not ones they are willing to part with to get the Tigers to send us Skubal. If we could dangle Spencer Jones and they would bite that would be one thing but Detroit is going to want a lot more than Jones and that likely starts with George Lombard Jr. or Carlos Lagrange.

 The Yankees don't want to part with Lombard Jr at all, let alone for a short term rental. There are other teams out there with a deeper pool of top prospects that will not only have more to offer the Tigers, but will also be willing to deal them and the first team that comes to mind should be no surprise....the damn Dodgers. They have more top ranked prospects than any team and are highly motivated to do what it takes to complete a dynasty run for another championship. It could happen, but I am not sleeping on the Cubs or the Padres either.

So, there it is. I sit here and drool thinking about Skubal but realistically have to tell myself he's an unrealistic move for the Yankees. A girl can dream, I guess.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

WHY WERE YANKEE SCOUTS COZYING UP TO VOLPE TO CLOSELY?

Something feels a miss to me. 

Look, Anthony Volpe’s shoulder has officially become the Yankees’ favorite bedtime story. Every time he looks lost at the plate or boots another routine play, somebody inside the organization whispers “well, maybe the shoulder…” like fans haven’t been watching this disaster unfold for years.

But Aaron Boone accidentally destroyed that excuse himself. Boone admitted today Volpe had “zero issues” with the shoulder during the final stretch of rehab. Zero. None. So enough already. The shoulder didn’t make Anthony Volpe a bad hitter. The shoulder didn’t make him overrated defensively. And the shoulder certainly didn’t force the Yankees to keep pretending he’s a cornerstone player when he keeps performing like a replacement-level stopgap.

The real issue feels much uglier. Anthony Volpe just is not a good baseball player.

And the people responsible for pushing this kid into untouchable status deserve to be called out directly. it is my opinion that Matt Hyde should be under serious scrutiny for this scouting miss. Yes, Hyde gets praise for finding later-round gems like Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler. Great. Nobody’s denying that. But when it comes to Volpe, Hyde sold the Yankees a fantasy.

Matt Hyde

And honestly, the details surrounding this whole thing are bizarre.  We did alittle digging. Volpe himself talked openly about the “bond” Hyde and the late Kelly Rodman formed with the Volpe parents. Not professional respect. Not admiration for the player. A “bond.” Damon Oppenheimer reportedly spent significant time around Volpe’s parents at tournaments and showcases too.

Why? Seriously, why? This is Major League Baseball scouting, not family counseling.

Scouts are supposed to evaluate talent objectively. Front office executives are supposed to make cold baseball decisions. Instead, this whole thing sounds like Yankees officials emotionally attached themselves to a local kid and completely lost perspective. Somewhere along the way, they stopped acting like evaluators and started acting like proud family friends rooting for the kid to succeed no matter what the evidence showed.

That’s dangerous. Because once emotion enters the equation, honesty leaves the room. And that’s exactly what happened here with Anthony Volpe.

The Yankees became so invested in the “New Jersey kid living the dream” narrative that they ignored the glaring flaws right in front of them. The weak contact. The inconsistent glove. The inability to adjust. The complete lack of impact for long stretches. They fell in love with the story instead of the player.

Now the organization is trapped protecting its own ego.  Volpe returned against Baltimore today and immediately went 0-for-3 with an error. That wasn’t some shocking off day. That was the same Anthony Volpe Yankees fans have watched for years now — overmatched at the plate and unreliable in the field despite endless hype telling everyone otherwise.

Yet the Yankees still hand him the shortstop job automatically, even with better options available. Why is Ryan McMahon not out there even though he is stronger defensively? Why is Max Schuemann, who is actually hitting .273, treated like an afterthought while Volpe gets endless chances to fail upward? Boone pushes this kid out there constantly. Why?

Because admitting Volpe is a bust means admitting Hyde and Oppenheimer badly misjudged him, and the Yankees organization hates admitting failure more than it hates losing games.

So look, the shoulder excuse? That's dead now. Boone killed it himself. So, what’s left? Just the uncomfortable truth nobody inside Yankee Stadium wants to say publicly:

Anthony Volpe isn’t struggling because he was hurt. He’s struggling because the Yankees overrated him from the very beginning, and the scouts who got emotionally invested in him helped create one of the most overprotected disappointments this franchise has seen in years.

WASTING A SCHLITTLER GEM

I wrote earlier today that Aaron Boone has a habit of managing high-pressure situations like a guy trying to disarm a bomb with oven mitts. After tonight, that no longer feels like a hot take — it feels more like something you’d submit with supporting documentation.

To be fair, Boone wasn’t the only reason this one went off the rails. The Yankees spent the entire night inventing new and creative ways to waste opportunity. Cam Schlittler deserved a win, or at least a standing ovation, after throwing six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, and casually absorbing a line drive to the leg like it was part of the job description. That should’ve been the story.

Instead, the offense treated run production like it required a premium subscription. Seven hits, seven walks, and only three runs — a stat line that feels less like baseball and more like a missed connection. And despite carrying leads in both the eighth and tenth innings, the Yankees still managed to turn it into a 4-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

From there, it unraveled in familiar fashion. The bullpen blinked, the defense fumbled through its assignments, and in the 10th inning Tim Hill delivered a throw so far off target it may still be clearing airspace over Wisconsin.

So no, the original point doesn’t feel any less valid. Nights like this are exactly why the questions around Boone linger. When the game is orderly, the Yankees look functional enough. But when things get tight, chaotic, and unscripted, it starts to look less like managing and more like a group project where nobody checked the assignment sheet.

'DAWG' SCHLITTLER GIVES YANKEES WHAT THEY NEED IN SOX SWEEP

The Yankees are cooking right now, and the one-two punch of Max Fried and Cam Schlittler has me doing a double take every time I look at the box score. Something has clearly clicked with this pitching staff. You can feel it. The confidence, the execution, the “good luck hitting that” energy—it’s all there.

Now, before anyone starts planning the parade down the Canyon of Heroes, let me be clear: it’s April. I’m not getting carried away. I am Robert Casey of Bleeding Yankee Blue. I will get you happy and then burst your birthday balloon right in front of you. I'm a realist. Baseball has a funny way of humbling you the second you start getting comfortable. But at the same time… you’d have to be blind not to see that something real is happening here.

And then there’s Schlittler—an absolute menace on the mound. The guy is a straight-up dawg. I mean, seriously, a 1.77 ERA? That’s not just good, that’s borderline ridiculous. And the wild part? He’s dealing with garbage off the field—death threats aimed at him and his family—and still going out there and shoving like it’s just another day. That’s not just talent, that’s toughness. Also, let’s get something straight: threatening players over a game is beyond stupid. It’s baseball. Get a grip.

Anyway, back to the part that actually makes sense—the Yankees are winning games. They’re 16–9, sitting on top of the American League, and just took another one from the last-place Boston Red Sox in their own building. And it wasn’t even a masterpiece offensively. The bats took their sweet time waking up. They had the bases loaded in the fourth and came away with nothing—strikeouts from Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham, plus a harmless popup from Randal Grichuk. That’s usually the kind of inning that comes back to haunt you.

But not this team. Not right now.

They found a way anyway, because that’s what this team seems to do when things are clicking—they win the games they probably shouldn’t, or at least right now. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t explosive, but it was enough. And “enough” has been more than enough lately.

Look, I’m still keeping one foot on the ground. I’ve seen too many seasons go sideways to start declaring anything in April. But I’m also not going to pretend this isn’t fun. The last three games? Yeah, they’ve put a smile on my face.

Let’s see how long they can keep this thing rolling.

 

THE YANKEES PROSPECT YOU SHOULD BE PAYING ATTENTION TO!

No, I am not talking about Spencer Jones. It's no secret by now I am OVER that guy. Casey digs him, I don't. NEXT.

So who is next? I'm watching Elmer Rodriguez. If you don't know who he is, he's the Yankees number three prospect who opened eyes at spring training. It was easy to watch that other guy who is overhyped. The real story just might be Elmer!

In all my time here, I have a history for getting excited about pitching prospects and Elmer is my latest. I am anxiously awaiting his next start to see how he builds upon his impressive start of the season. In three starts, he has pitched 15.2 innings, struck out 13 and has a ridiculous 1.15 ERA. In his last start he threw first pitch strikes to 17 of the 21 batters he faced. Yes, that gets me excited. 

Another thing that gets me excited, is when we can stead some good talent from Boston. We did that with Cam Schlittler and Elmer could be another good pick up. Schlittler popped on the scene in a big way last season and Elmer had a good season in the minors. In 27 games last season, he struck out 176 batters and held opponents to a .192 BA. He's got a good sinker in his pitching arsenal and all good things that give me tingles. Boston drafted him in the fourth round in 2021 and traded him to us in exchange for catcher Carlos Narvaez and that could pay dividends in the future.

It's early in the season, and he has more to prove in Triple-A but you never know what the Yankees may need later in the season. If he continues to progress, he could force the Yankees hand and make it impossible for the Yankees not to give him a call up. Right now a lot has to go wrong with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon getting closer to return but there have been question marks with Luis Gil and his ability to be a reliable starter after he has regressed since his 2024 rookie season.

The Yankees have proven they are not shy about calling young studs up. We saw it last year with Schlittler, and if Elmer keeps pitching the way he is now the Yankees would be stupid not to give him a shot to help this team win the division.

Elmer's not ready yet, but he's getting closer and I like what I am seeing.
All eyes on Elmer!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj