Cam Schlittler threw off of a mound earlier on Tuesday afternoon, as the Yankees’ right-hander was dealing with a tweak in his back that had him limited to flatground throwing.
Manager Aaron Boone revealed to the media that Schlittler tweaked his back last week but that the injury was considered minor, noting that he had undergone testing already to see the severity of the issues.
Later that day, Schlittler himself would tell reporters that he had “zero concern” about the injury and had dealt with something similar in the past, but alarm bells went off because he mentioned his lat area as well.
He would later clarify on X (formerly known as Twitter) that it was his left lat, not his throwing one, and that the issue was still a minor one.
Now throwing off of a mound, the Yankees will try and track how his body responds to the increased workload to see if he can be cleared for further progressions during Spring Training.
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Cam Schlittler Throws Off Mound, Yankees Check Important Box Off
The latest on Cam Schlittler entering Valentine’s Day weekend was that the right-hander would target a mid-week return to the mound, and the Yankees did indeed see that schedule followed to a tee.
Schlittler has not faced live hitters, but he did throw off of a mound and believes this back issue is a minor setback rather than a massive issue.
Whether the hard-throwing phenom continues to deal with these back problems or not remains to be seen, and it will be important to keep tabs on this story as he continues to ramp up for Opening Day in San Francisco.
Clarke Schmidt dealt with a back issue last Spring Training and while the issue was deemed to be minor at first, he ended up missing the first two weeks of the season due to those issues.
With the injuries already being nursed in the rotation as Carlos Rodon recovers from a bone spur removal and Gerrit Cole continues working back from Tommy John Surgery, even a minor IL stint could have a massive effect on the rotation.
Ryan Yarbrough is widely considered to be the frontrunner for the sixth starter job, and the Yankees view Paul Blackburn as another depth option if needed.
Elmer Rodriguez, our no. 1 ranked pitching prospect in the Yankees’ organization (no. 3 overall) could be in consideration, but the consensus opinion is that the club would like to see him in Triple-A for a bit longer.
There is some precedent with the Yankees calling up prospects with limited Triple-A experience, both Anthony Volpe and Jasson Dominguez were brought up to the big leagues rather swiftly after reaching Scranton.
As of right now, Cam Schlittler is expected to make the Opening Day roster, but there are still 36 days until the Yankees and Giants kick off the 2026 season.
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