Yankees ready for changing of the guard as Subway Series looms | Klapisch

Once again, the Yankees have reached a critical stage of the season where they’ll tell us who they are. So far, there have been two revelations.

The first occurred after Opening Day, when the Yankees sprinted to a 7-1 start. The second took place between April 5-16, when the Yankees lost eight of 11 games. They could’ve lost all 11 had the A’s Mark Leiter Jr. and the Angels’ Jason Romano not blown saves.

Just like that, Aaron Boone’s crew went from unstoppable to unwatchable. Of course, the cycle has only continued. The Yankees won their next six series before being overwhelmed this past week by the Brewers and Orioles.

Good luck trying to figure out what’s next, especially with the uncertainty around Max Fried. The results of his MRI, likely to be announced on Friday, will go a long way in determining who will be the Yankees’ ace until Gerrit Cole comes off the injured list next month.

Even if the scan shows no serious damage to Fried’s left elbow, something’s been off lately. He’s allowed 11 earned runs in his last 14 1/3 innings. Meanwhile, the Yankees have won only five of his 10 starts.

Fried was a 19-game winner in 2025, a blessing during Cole’s year-long absence. But with a 4-3 record and a 3.21 ERA, he’s struggled so far this season to sustain his excellence. The MRI may offer an explanation.

Losing Fried would be a setback, but I suspect the Yankees could survive a short-term absence. They’re lucky Cam Schlittler has evolved so quickly this year. In fact, he’s already the ace, if not in name, then in results.

An American League scout recently marveled at how well Schlittler has diversified his arsenal in less than one season. He’s gone from offering a lethal fastball to featuring two types of cutters, a curveball and a sinker. Hitters are struggling to keep up.

Schlittler not only has a team-best 1.35 ERA but has also given up only one home run in 53 1/3 innings.

“We saw right away there was real substance as to why Cam was having success (last year),” said pitching coach Matt Blake. “All Cam has done is get better and better.”

The scout enthusiastically agreed.

“(Schlittler) is the Yankees’ best pitcher right now,” he said. “He’s going to be an All-Star at this rate.”

Talk about perfect timing. The Yankees will be sending Schlittler to the mound at Citi Field on Friday. Like most Subway Series showdowns, this will be over-heated and over-analyzed. For good reason, too: both the Yankees and Mets have issues.

Despite a modest bounce back against the Tigers this week, the Mets are still among MLB’s worst clubs. David Stearns, the roster’s architect, will soon have to decide whether to move some of the Mets’ valuable assets. Those include Clay Holmes, whose ERA (1.86) is nearly as good as Schlittler’s.

It only makes sense that the two are facing each other, though the symmetry ends there. The Mets are in such horrible shape that even the Yankees are mystified.

“Yeah, I really don’t understand it,” said Aaron Judge. “(The Mets) have a great manager with (Carlos Mendoza) over there. He spent a lot of great times over here with us. They’ve got a great lineup, a great pitching staff.

“So it’s baseball. I think a lot of that comes down to it. You can’t really judge a team off of six weeks of this season. If you did that, you could take six weeks that we’re struggling and say we’re the worst team out there. They’ve got a good ballclub over there.”

Judge is being generous in praising the Mets’ offense. It’s last or next-to-last in the major leagues in runs, batting average and slugging percentage. Even worse, it’s about to face Schlittler for the first time. Mendoza’s lineup should prepare for a night of misery.

Remember what Schlittler did to the Red Sox in Game 3 of last year’s Wild Card Series. They, too, had never been exposed to that near-100-mph fastball.

Schlittler shut out Boston for eight innings, striking out 12 without walking a batter. He sent the Sox home for the winter while turning himself into the Bronx’s newest celebrity. But the most curious aspect of Schlittler’s rise is how unaffected he is by the attention.

At only 25, Schlittler is as unfazed as a 10-year veteran. Not even death threats from Boston-area fans last month seemed to bother him. The Weymouth, Massachusetts, native knows Red Sox Nation considers him a traitor, but it doesn’t matter.

He’s a Yankee, the perfect guy not just to kick off the Subway Series, but to step in for Cole and Fried at the front of the rotation.

“I love New York. I love being a Yankee,” Schlittler said, fully aware that the feeling is mutual.

Especially this weekend.

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