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TAMPA — The last, but perhaps most anticipated, piece of the Yankees’ projected Opening Day rotation has finally joined the fold. 

Cam Schlittler, slowed earlier in camp by mid-back/left lat inflammation, made his spring debut Friday night, throwing 2 ¹/₃ scoreless innings against the Rays at Steinbrenner Field. 

As long as he continues to bounce back well the rest of the spring, the Yankees believe Schlittler can get built up to throw around 65-80 pitches in his regular-season debut. 

“We got a plan laid out, so I’m very confident that I’m going to be good to go that [first] weekend,” Schlittler said. 

The 25-year-old right-hander brought the heat from the jump, striking out the first batter he faced on three pitches, capped off with a 99.4 mph fastball.

That pitch averaged 98.7 mph across his 39 pitches, scattering two hits and one walk while striking out four. 

But the pitch that may have jumped out the most Friday was Schlittler’s cutter, which he used to strike out a pair of batters. The pitch peaked at 96.5 mph and averaged 94.9 mph, up noticeably from the 91.9 mph it averaged last season. 

“It’s nasty, too,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Couple of his live [batting practices], just standing behind him, it’s kind of wicked. I think if he can get the consistency on that downer curveball that he has, then if you want to count the cutter as the third fastball [along with a four-seam and two-seam], the three fastballs with the curveball, then he gets pretty tough to deal with.” 

Schlittler credited Gerrit Cole with having him split the cutter into two pitches before his final start of the regular season last year, focusing on a harder cutter that he predominantly threw up in the zone. 

“Continue to hopefully keep the velo and location as well,” he said. 

Schlittler has the potential to elevate the Yankees’ rotation this year if he can build off his 14-game cameo last season, when he was called up in July to replace the injured Clarke Schmidt and pitched to a 2.96 ERA the rest of the way. He was even better in the playoffs, delivering an historic performance against his hometown Red Sox in the clinching Game 3 of the AL wild-card series, striking out 12 across eight shutout innings. 

Boone said that Schlittler’s confidence, combined with his competitiveness, is what impressed him the most. 

“He comes up and he’s able to make adjustments without it being stressful,” Boone said. “He was just at ease right away, in the best kind of way.”

A high schooler got the best of Aaron Judge during Friday’s World Baseball Classic matchup between Team USA and Brazil.

Yes, a high schooler.

With the bases loaded in the top of the second inning, 17-year-old right-hander Joseph Contreras — son of former Yankee pitcher Jose Contreras — got Judge to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Contreras fared better against Judge than Brazil starter Bo Takahashi, who gave up a two-run homer to the three-time American League MVP that gave the U.S. an early 2-0 lead.

Despite his brief appearance, Contreras’ outing was impressive, throwing a fastball in the high-90s while giving up one earned run in 1⅓ innings.

Contreras is the youngest player in the entire 2026 WBC, and currently attends Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Roswell, Georgia.

According to MLB.com, Contreras is ranked as the No. 47 draft prospect and is committed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt.

“He could fit into the top two rounds as one of the higher-ceiling arms in the high school class, though teams will have to sign him away from a Vanderbilt commitment,” Contreras’ MLB.com prospect profile says. “He still has room to pack plenty of muscle on his lanky frame, so he could add more power to his heater and his secondary offerings.”

Contreras’ father, Jose, spent 11 seasons in the big leagues (2003-13), spending time with the Yankees, White Sox, Rockies, Phillies and Pirates.

Across his MLB tenure, Jose posted a 4.57 ERA and 889 strikeouts through 299 appearances, along with having an All-Star appearance in 2006 with the White Sox.

Despite Jose being from Cuba, Joseph is eligible to play for Brazil in the WBC because his mother is Brazilian.

The Dodgers were able to bounce back after suffering a walk-off loss on Thursday by shutting out the Kansas City Royals 6-0 on Friday.

The Dodgers wasted no time putting the ball in play to begin the bottom of the first, as Miguel Rojas and Freddie Freeman knocked a pair of singles to strike first on the scoreboard. Mookie Betts knocked his first extra-base hit of the spring to bring home Freeman before Teoscar Hernández traded places with Betts to make it a 3-0 Dodger lead before the Royals recorded an out.

Both Rojas and Hernández finished their evening going 3-3, with Rojas hitting a trio of singles and Hernández smacking a double and two singles. Freddie Freeman finished with three RBI on the night while Hernández plated two, both contributing in the second three-run inning for the Dodgers as they led 6-0 after four innings.

Ryder Ryan was given the start for the Dodgers having given up just two runs over five previous innings. Ryan struggled with command in the first inning, issuing two consecutive walks to Nick Loftin and Isaac Collins, but Ryan managed to pick off Loftin between first and second base and Dalton Rushing threw out Collins attempting to steal second base. Ryan had an easier time on the mound in the second inning, tossing just seven pitches and picking up a strikeout to end his day at the office.

Will Klein faced his former team for the first time in his career, giving up a single from Connor Kaiser as well as a walk to Peyton Wilson, but worked around the two baserunners with a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless third inning. Tanner Scott took over on the mound in the fourth inning, pitching a perfect inning on just 10 pitches with a pair of bookend strikeouts.

Antoine Kelly, Ronan Kopp, Edgardo Henríquez, Chris Campos and Wyatt Mills each combined for a five scoreless innings to close out Friday’s contest, allowing just two hits while striking out eight and walking three hitters.

UP NEXT

The Dodgers are back under the lights at Camelback Ranch on Saturday to host the Colorado Rockies (5:05 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Landon Knack gets the start for the Dodgers, facing southpaw Sean Sullivan.

Expectations were high for Cam Schlittler’s first spring start, and he did not disappoint. Over 2.1 innings and 39 pitches, he struck out four Rays and looked really good while doing it. Meanwhile, Trent Grisham came up clutch on offense, driving in two runs on a single in the second inning. The rest of the game was relatively uneventful, with both teams’ pitching carving up batters left and right. When all was said and done, the Yankees came away with the win, a quick 2-0 affair.

How about Schlittler, though?! I try not to get too excited about spring starts, but the big righty’s outing was certainly encouraging. He started his night by striking out Taylor Walls on three pitches, with an assist from the new ABS system:

I have no idea why the ump called it a ball in the first place, but I guess they’re still a bit rusty.

To their credit, the Rays did not go quietly after that, as Theo Gillen worked a walk, and Ryan Vilade singled to put runners at first and second. However, Schlittler was unfazed, freezing Jacob Melton on a perfectly located 99 mph heater to get him looking for the second out. The BABIP gods then tested Schlittler’s resolve by turning a Ben Williamson squibbler into an infield single to load the bases, but Schlittler got Hunter Feduccia to ground out to short, escaping the inning unscathed.

The Yankees would generate some traffic of their own in the bottom of the first. After a Grisham strikeout, Ben Rice worked a walk, then advanced to third on a Cody Bellinger single. However, Giancarlo Stanton went down looking, and even though Bellinger stole second, Ryan McMahon could not bring him or Rice home, lining out to left for the third out.

Schlittler picked up right where he left off in the top of the second, inducing groundballs from Logan Davidson and Xavier Isaac before striking out Raynel Delgado for a clean 1-2-3 inning. The offense put men on base again in the bottom half, and this time, they did not disappoint. Although Paul DeJong lined out to short to lead off the inning, Oswaldo Cabrera started his comeback the right way by working a walk, and Max Schuemann doubled to put runners at second and third. Payton Henry struck out looking, but Grisham came through, slashing a base hit to right field to drive in two.

Rice continued the rally by doubling to center field, with Grisham advancing to third, but Bellinger lined out to right to end the threat. Still, the damage was done.

Schlittler finished his night by striking out Taylor Walls for the second time, this time getting him to swing through a high cutter. His final line – 2.1 innings, four strikeouts, zero runs, two hits, and a walk. He certainly brought the heat, hitting 99 mph several times, but his secondaries were sharp too, with his cutter and curveball looking quite good. He was also able to avoid the heart of the zone, generally commanding his pitches well. There were nothing but positives from his start, and I eagerly await his next one.

Not a whole lot happened for the rest of the game, as both the Yankees’ and Rays’ pitchers put up a bunch of zeros. On the Rays’ side, Joe Boyle impressed despite the Grisham hit, striking out six in his 3.0 innings and showcasing some premium stuff. Ian Seymour relieved Boyle in the fourth inning and was even better, pitching 3.1 innings, striking out six, and not allowing a single baserunner. Alex Cook came on with one out in the eighth and closed out the inning without issue. Joe Rock had the worst day of the bunch, as his wild pitch in the ninth inning allowed Kenedy Corona to score from third (after having stolen second and third!), and walked an additional two batters in the frame before striking out George Lombard Jr. to escape the inning. Still, it was an impressive showing from the Rays’ pitching corps.

All of this would have been mildly irritating if not for the fact that the Yankees’ pitchers had themselves a day, too. Tim Hill, Brent Headrick, Zach Messinger, and Danny Watson combined for 6.2 innings, 14 strikeouts, and just two baserunners. Granted, they were facing a quite toothless Rays lineup which lacked Yandy Díaz, Junior Caminero, and Jonathan Aranda, but it was a great showing nonetheless. Aside from Hill, these pitchers project to be on the Scranton shuttle rather than regular bullpen contributors, but having depth arms that won’t embarrass you is important over the course of the 162-game season.

As a small Aaron Judge/Team USA update: he clobbered a two-run homer off of Brazil’s Bo Takahashi. Great to see our Captain showing out on the international stage — even if former Yankees pitcher José Contreras’ 17-year-old son surprisingly got him to hit into a double play in his second at-bat!

The Yankees’ next game will be against the Nationals, at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on 6:05pm ET tomorrow evening. Will Warren is slated to start against Josiah Gray.

Box Score

Freddy Peralta hasn’t even thrown a pitch that counts in a Mets uniform yet, but he already knows that this is where he wants to be. 

“I’m really comfortable here,” he told Jon Heyman of the New York Post. “I’m not going to lie, I’d love to be here, and I’d love to stay a long time.”

Peralta, of course, is a free agent this offseason and he told Heyman that he is seeking a seven or eight-year deal. 

It remains unclear if he's had any talks with the Mets on a potential extension to this point, but he did play coy following his first start of the spring, simply offering no comment and a big smile. 

The 29-year-old reiterated that comfort he’s felt with the organization.

“Everything has been amazing,” he explained. “Talking from the bottom to the top, the people in the front office, everyone -- they’ve been very easy for me, easy to work with, and I’m just happy because I feel they have my back.”

While David Stearns has been hesitant to hand out long-term pacts to pitchers over the years, perhaps he’d be willing to change things up for an arm he's comfortable with having dealt for twice in his career.

Stearns acquired Peralta as a prospect in Milwaukee, and now brings him to the Big Apple, where he'll provide a significant boost to the Mets' rotation this year... and potentially beyond. 

We’re about halfway through spring training, which means position battles are heating up. Earlier this week, we asked who you thought had the best chance to break camp with the Rockies, and you answered!

The vast majority of you believe that newly-acquired first baseman TJ Rumfield has the best chance of doing just that.

Rumfield was acquired on January 28th in a trade that sent RHP Angel Chivilli to the New York Yankees. He has contributed well this spring, slashing .350/.500/.950 with four homers in 10 games. He has also walked four times and walked just once.

Behind him, 19% of you believe that Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP) could break camp. The rest of the candidates each earned less-than 10% of the vote.

Do you agree that TJ Rumfield has the best chance? What have you liked from him so far this spring? Let us know!

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