Yankees Cam Schlittler has reservations about All-Star Game appearance

Cam Schlittler expressed second thoughts about pitching in Tuesday’s All-Star Game and notified Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Sunday morning.

Speaking with reporters after the Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Nationals on Sunday at Washington, with a 5-3 victory, Schlittler’s concerns sounded precautionary in nature.

“The staff’s had a lot of injuries this year,” said Schlittler, mentioning Gerrit Cole’s delayed start to 2026 due to Tommy John surgery rehab, and current starters Max Fried and Carlos Rodon being on the IL.

“Don’t want to put that risk in there of letting the team down if I were not to recover in the right way and I’m kind of dragging a little bit,” said Schlittler. “That wouldn’t benefit anyone.”

Yankees first baseman/DH Ben Rice (who’ll participate in Monday’s Home Run Derby) and Cody Bellinger were also selected to the All-Star team, and injured Yankees captain Aaron Judge (rib fracture) was voted in by the fans.

Judge is scheduled to undergo a follow-up MRI this week, six weeks after landing on the IL.

Schlittler tossed 6.2 innings in Saturday’s 4-2 win at Washington, using 99 pitches and moving into the break at 9-5 with a league-best 2.05 ERA in 20 starts.

Tuesday would be Schlittler’s normal between-starts bullpen day, but “I kind of knew that it didn’t line up perfectly” to pitch in the All-Star Game, he said.

“My priorities are to the (Yankees) and helping this team win a championship,” said Schlittler. “And I wasn’t comfortable enough that I was going to recover 100 percent to try and go out for an inning and throw as hard as I can.”

All-Star and Blue Jays manager John Schneider named his right-hander, Dylan Cease, to start for the AL at Philadelphia, telling MLB.com that Cease was his choice regardless of Schlittler’s decision.

“Dylan’s been great this year, he deserves that,” said Schlittler, who – at least for now – is not being replaced on the AL team.

“I’m on the roster and if they need me, I’ll throw,” Schlittler said, adding his availability for Tuesday is “a conversation I’ll have in the next day or two.”

Schlittler added that he feels “really good” physically and was “not worried about recovering or anything like that” if he were to pitch Tuesday.

Schlittler added that the Yankees and his teammates “supported the opportunity that I had” to pitch in the All-Star Game and “at the end of the day, it’s my decision.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Yankees Cam Schlittler has reservations about All-Star Game appearance