Around the Empire: Yankees news - 5/2/22

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: MLB rosters dropped from 28 to 26 men today, which meant that some tough decisions were in store for the players caught on the bubble. Clarke Schmidt and Miguel Andújar were the two victims of the roster crunch, both optioned to Triple-A Scranton despite playing major roles in Sunday’s win over the Royals. Schmidt had posted a 1.08 ERA in eight appearances, but with the emergence of Michael King, the long relief role for the Yankees may be filled for now. It’s likely better for Schmidt to get some regular playing time, as injuries and pandemics have meant that he’s never reached 100 combined innings in a season as a professional.

New York Daily News | Kristie Ackert: Joey Gallo pulled up limp in Saturday’s contest, being taken out of the game with groin tightness. Despite some earlier reports, the Yankees have not put the slugger on the IL just yet, with Aaron Boone reporting that Gallo was working through the injury while staying on the major league roster. The optioning of Andújar should be a signal the Yankees don’t expect Gallo to miss any significant time.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Hey, it’s Kuty again. Gerrit Cole’s had himself two pretty good starts after being a little shaky in the early days of the season, and one notable change has been his batterymate. Cole famously eschewed Gary Sánchez in favor of throwing to Kyle Higashioka, but his two recent starts came with Jose Trevino behind the plate. While neither the club nor its ace have fully committed to the pairing going forward, Cole’s known to be a particular kind of guy; having another personal catcher may just be one of his quirks.

New York Times | Benjamin Hoffman: It was a good April for New York baseball fans, regardless of whether they wear pinstripes or the black alternates. Both the Yankees and the Mets closed out the season’s opening month with the best record in their respective leagues, for the first time since 1986 — a good year for the squad from Queens, less so for the guys in the Bronx, who finished 5.5 games behind Boston in the AL East.