MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: The Yankees staved off elimination Tuesday, erasing a five-run deficit to win 9-6 against the Blue Jays. Aaron Judge’s dramatic, game-tying home run on an absurd inside pitch banged off the foul pole in the fourth—a huge moment, also chronicled by ESPN’s Jeff Passan— and brought the game, setting the stage for Jazz Chisholm Jr. to stake the Yankees to a lead the following inning. The comeback wiped out an early surge by Toronto against starter Carlos Rodón, who left with a 6-1
deficit in the third. The bullpen was nails from there, keeping Toronto off the board for the duration and giving the Yankees a fighting chance in the best-of-five ALDS.
It was a ton of fun, but there’s no rest for the weary, as the Yanks must win again tonight behind Cam Schlittler against a Jays bullpen game started by Louis Varland. If they pull it off, they will send the series back to Toronto for a winner-take-all Game 5 on Friday.
MLB Trade Rumors | Steve Adams: Based on their proprietary formula for projecting arbitration salaries, MLB Trade Rumors has put out their yearly predictions for how much each arbitration-eligible player is likely to receive for the 2026 season. The top mark on the Yankees goes to second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., projected to garner $10.2 million, followed closely by closer David Bednar ($9 million). That pair, each two-time All-Stars, will be easy pickups.
Five veteran relievers are more likely to be on the bubble: Camilo Doval ($6.6 million), Mark Leiter Jr. ($3 million), Ian Hamilton ($941,000), Jake Cousins ($841,000), and Scott Effross ($800,000). Of the bunch, Doval was the only one on the Yankees’ ALDS roster and the youngest; he’ll be 29 next season and likely the safest bet to be picked up from that group, as there could be non-tender candidates there. Other mainstays up for arbitration include starter Clarke Schmidt, projected to make $4.9 million as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, and shortstop Anthony Volpe, slotted at $3.9 million in his first year of arbitration.
Baseball America | J.J. Cooper: ($) Schlittler’s dominating performance in the decisive Game 3 of the Wild Card Series last week was a coming-out party for the 24-year-old, who seemingly emerged out of nowhere to become a key cog in the Yankees’ playoff rotation. His rapid ascent from fringe prospect to effective big-leaguer can largely be pinned on a sudden uptick in velocity, from sitting 93-94 mph at the start of the season to hitting triple digits in the playoffs. The rookie’s dynamic heater is not just a good sign in the present — it’s the best predictive criterion for a long and productive MLB career.
This is due to several factors. For one, batters struggle with velo — across MLB, hitters slug .466 against fastballs in the 92-93 mph range but just .216 against triple-digit pitches. That effect continues to secondary pitches, which are often more effective when paired with high heat. Despite concerns about the link between throwing hard and getting hurt, the correlation between throwing hard and getting big-leaguers out is clear as day. Among pitchers whose fastballs sat at least a mph below league average, 15 percent stuck around to throw 1,000 pitches at the major league level. Among those who threw at least two mph above average? 50 percent. If these trends hold for his career, Schlittler is well on his way. Check out Cooper’s full study for more on this fascinating topic.
Bleacher Report | Andrew Peters: Dominican Republic manager Nelson Cruz is recruiting Yankees backstop Austin Wells to catch for his team in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, per Daniel Santana of Diario Libre. Wells, who grew up in Las Vegas, would be eligible to play for the Dominican Republic as his mother is of Dominican descent. The 26-year-old might have a clearer path to playing time on Cruz’s squad than on Team USA, to which Mariners catcher and MVP candidate Cal Raleigh has already committed. Yainer Diaz, Agustín Ramírez, and Samuel Basallo are among others who could be in the mix to catch for the Dominican Republic in the tournament.
