David Lennon: Yankees' Cam Schlittler says there are 'no hard feelings' about All-Star starter snub, but should we believe him?

PHILADELPHIA — The Yankees don’t face the Blue Jays again until mid-August, but you get the sense Cam Schlittler is hoping he’ll be on the mound that weekend at Rogers Centre.

Probably with the express purpose of reminding Jays manager John Schneider that the Yankees’ ace is the best pitcher in the American League, and not Toronto’s own Dylan Cease, who got the nod to start Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park.

The timeline for the decision sort of lets Schneider off the hook, as he made the Cease decision Saturday night — supposedly before Schlittler, who wasn’t aware, informed manager Aaron Boone the next morning that he thought it best to skip pitching in his first Midsummer Classic for the sake of the team.

But by Schlittler’s own admission, that was an abrupt change to how he felt earlier in the week, after dominating the Rays Monday at the Trop and following up with a strong start Saturday against the Nationals. Plus, that schedule lined up Schlittler perfectly for the All-Star assignment, as that would typically be his throw day between starts.

“I think the plan from a month ago or so was to throw,” Schlittler said Monday, “especially if I was able to start.”

The assumption here was that Schlittler would get the call. Instead, Schneider picked Cease and Schlittler passed, saying that he was prioritizing his health for the second half. Nothing wrong with that reasoning. But it was interesting that when Schneider was asked Monday about the process of landing on Cease, he didn’t even mention Schlittler’s name or suggest the choice was a difficult one.

“I think if you look at the overall body of work this year, where [Cease] is in his career, the entire body of work over the last three years,” Schneider said. “Again, we’re talking about 2026. But I think the evolution of him as a pitcher, I got to see it kind of up close and personal.

“You’re talking about leading the league in strikeouts, up there in innings pitched, quality starts, WAR. There was a lot of categories that he was either at the top or second in. I think that’s what tipped it. It was performance. Part of it was me seeing it up close every day, but we get to see a lot of guys up close, and I think Dylan’s performance made him very deserving of this honor.”

Schneider’s right in some respects. Cease does have the edge on Schlittler in fWAR, 3.7 to 3.4, more strikeouts (148 to 137) and a better walk/strikeout percentage (25.9 to 23.9). But Schlittler has the AL’s best ERA (2.05) — Cease is third at 2.56 — to go along with being tied for the most starts (20) and second with 118 2/3 innings (Cease’s 98 1/3 ranks 20th).

Again, at the of the day, Schlittler chose to not pitch. But Schneider made his pick without that knowledge, so I asked Schlittler if that was something he might store away for his next showdown with the Blue Jays.

“I found that out after I decided, so for me, that’s a noncontrollable,” Schlittler said. “Dylan’s been great this year. I haven’t had a chance to sit down with Schneider yet, but I would like to have a good conversation and just introduce myself and go from there.

“There’s no hard feelings. That’s not something I can control. I’m more worried about the second half.”

Knowing Schlittler as we do, however, would it surprise anyone to have him revisit this episode after dominating his next start vs. the Blue Jays? Definitely not. We’ve seen him use this stuff as fuel too many times before. Schlittler still holds the Red Sox responsible for their fans harassing his Mom, and after mowing through the Rays for eight innings last week (no walks, eight strikeouts ), he clapped back at a Boston-based podcaster who suggested “regression” was the cause for a recent glitch.

Bottom line, for a pitcher, an All-Star invite stirs conflicted emotions. It’s an exhausting six-month season, and extra-precarious for a pitcher, especially one that makes his living throwing triple-digit fastballs. In Schlittler’s case, cranking up that heat again — for an exhibition that has no bearing on the Yankees’ World Series mission — doesn’t feel like it’s worth the risk.

Schlittler is the ace of a rotation with a number of question marks, including him. Workload-wise, he’s on pace to blow past last year’s 149 2/3 innings, so the Yankees may have to pump the brakes a bit anyway going forward. Even if the Yankees didn’t admit a preference for Schlittler to sit this one out, these are things that were probably brought up in any All-Star discussions. It happens everywhere else.

“I think as an individual, you have to take it case by case,” said Atlanta’s Chris Sale, a 10-time All-Star who has made three starts (but also battled injuries). “And I think you’ve got to listen to your team as well. If your training staff, your coaching staff, the front office is pretty adamant about not having you throw, I think they deserve the right to have a say in it. But as a player, I think if you’re dead-set on throwing in the game, I think your team should allow it.”

Schlittler gave every indication this was his call, and the way he’s approached his one-plus year in pinstripes, the mindset certainly fits. But it comes at a personal sacrifice, as there’s no guarantee Schlittler will be back on the All-Star stage.

“Just trying to put my [health] and the team first,” Schlittler said. “We got bigger aspirations for this season.”

Consider Schneider and his Blue Jays on notice the next time they get in Schlittler’s way.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.