Yankees: 3 roster moves struggling NYY need to make

1. Slice Erik Kratz/Keep Clarke Schmidt

This isn’t going to sit well with Yankees fans, especially on the heels of his heartwarming relationship with Devi Garcia, but beloved veteran Erik Kratz is going to be the odd man out when the Yanks realize they can’t be carrying all these backstops.

With how bad New York is playing, the club simply cannot afford to keep three catchers on the roster. There’s a slim chance that Gary Sanchez is ever the odd man odd, despite how lost he looks at (and behind) the plate recently. The two-time All-Star has gone down on strikes in seven straight at-bats and is now in the midst of a 4-for-41 slump that has seen his average drop to .130 on the season. Sanchez was rightfully benched on Sunday, but that likely won’t last long as he’s still considered baseball’s most lethal slugging catcher and can still “run into one” at any given time.

That brings us to the Yankees keeping Clarke Schmidt, who was admittedly knocked around in his official MLB debut coming out of the bullpen. To be fair to the young right-hander, he was put in an incredibly difficult and pressurized spot. We’d love to see what he can do as a starter, or at least as a reliever without ducks on the pond and a game on the line.

During a stretch where a slew of hurlers have underperformed, Schmidt deserves a chance to prove his worth. Even Miguel Yajure should probably still be here.

Kratz belongs in the Bronx as a coach for the next decade. But it’s either him or Kyle Higashioka (and we’d hear you out on that one, too!). It’s essential that the Yankees keep as much young pitching as possible, and keeping three catchers is a luxury this decrepit team can no longer afford.