Around the Empire: Yankees news - 7/4/22

MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald: While Manny Bañuelos did finally get to make his Yankees debut this season, his latest stint with the team is now over. The club traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday for cash considerations, following his being designated for assignment on June 28. The lefty put up nice numbers in 8.1 innings, but there simply wasn’t space for him on the team. Presumably he should have more chances to prove his mettle for the Pirates. Here’s hoping he does well and gets an extended stay in the big leagues.

NJ.com | Randy Miller: Aroldis Chapman is healthy now, but if his first outing back from Achilles tendinitis is any indication, his struggles are far from over. The issue, according to Aaron Boone, could be mental, with a lack of confidence being to blame. Chapman apparently does not trust that he can throw the ball for strikes, so he may be overthinking, making pitching with conviction impossible.

NJ.com | Bob Klapisch: If you’ve been keeping up with your YES broadcasts, you’ve likely heard about how Anthony Rizzo keeps climbing up the all-time leaderboard for being hit by pitches. He’s currently 11th, which is pretty ridiculous. Rizzo knows he puts himself in the line of fire by crowding the box against left-handed pitchers, but that strategy is also what keeps him hitting well against same-side pitchers. While he’s hit by lefties once every 22 at-bats and doesn’t relish the danger of potentially getting a bad injury, he says “daring” those pitchers to throw inside to him is part of what has him hitting .325 against them.

NJ.com | Randy Miller: One of the unlikeliest sources of the team’s success so far this season has been the big contributions of Matt Carpenter, who provided two home runs in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Cleveland. He was essentially out of the league before the Yankees signed him, yet he’s turned into a slugging reserve player who makes the most of his limited at-bats. Carpenter reworked his swing from scratch, making it even more impressive that he doesn’t seem to show much rust without regular playing time. His teammates are impressed with him, and Carpenter is thrilled to be playing again on a team with World Series aspirations.