Around the Empire: Yankees news - 12/29/22

NY Daily News | Matthew Roberson: The sour taste his postseason appearances left makes us forget or overlook the fact that Clarke Schmidt was actually quite solid in 2022. He threw 57.2 innings with a 3.12 ERA (3.60 FIP), with 56 strikeouts while starting three games and entering 26 as a reliever.

There is no room for him in the rotation, and things in the bullpen are crowded at the moment, for the lack of a better word. Roberson believes argues that a trade might be the best course of action at this point.“Now, he’s just another guy stuck in no man’s land. The least the Yankees can do is give him a permanent home, whether that’s with them or another team that will take good care of him.”

MLB Trade Rumors | Anthony Franco: The Yankees announced a trade with the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night involving recently-DFA’d reliever Lucas Luetge. New York is sending the southpaw to Atlanta in exchange for two minor leaguers: speedy second baseman Caleb Durbin (who reached High-A in 2022 and will turn 23 before the start of the season) and pitcher Indigo Díaz (who MLB Pipeline had ranked 23rd in the Braves’ system).

Diaz has big strikeout numbers throughout his minor league career, but is a bit old for his level (he pitched at Double-A in 2022) and has control issues.

NJ Advance Media | Randy Miller: During the Carlos Rodón introductory press conference, Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake spoke at length about his bullpen and how it’s shaping up with an eye in the 2023 campaign. “I feel like we’re probably in a better spot than it seemed at the end of the year,” he said last week. “I felt like there was probably a lot of moving parts and not a lot of stability amongst the roles and I think we’ve got a lot of guys who are capable of handling the high-leverage situations with Clay, Wandy and Loaisiga. And Trivino can step into that spot, Kahnle has done it before and you’re hoping to get King back early in the year.”

Miller offered the latest updates on injured Yankees Michael King (who will be ready at some point in the first few weeks of 2023 and potentially by Opening Day), Ron Marinaccio (who will have several months of rest on that troublesome shin) and discussed the potential roles of Schmidt and Domingo Germán.

NY Daily News | Matthew Roberson: As the year quickly comes to an end, New York media reminds us how the Yankees’ top prospects fared in the 2022 campaign. Roberson discusses three names at length: Oswald Peraza, Anthony Volpe and Jasson Domínguez. All had strong seasons, and Peraza even had a successful stint in the big leagues.

Peraza will be given the chance to fight for the starting shortstop gig in spring training, while Volpe and Domínguez will try to prove they can master the high minors.