José Caballero’s surge deepens Yankees’ shortstop question as postseason nears
With Anthony Volpe limited by shoulder trouble, Caballero has produced at the plate and made run-saving plays at short, but New York has not settled on an everyday plan.
BOSTON — José Caballero continued to press his case for everyday duty at shortstop Sunday, delivering a seventh-inning home run and a run-saving defensive play in the New York Yankees’ 6-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Caballero started his fifth straight game at shortstop — the most time he has spent there with the Yankees this season — and capped the eighth inning with a diving stop to his left on a hard grounder by Ceddanne Rafaela, then made a strong throw to first to end the frame. Earlier, he launched a long drive off left-hander Steven Matz in the seventh.
The increased playing time comes as Anthony Volpe deals with the aftereffects of a cortisone shot on his left shoulder related to a small labrum tear he first suffered in May. Manager Aaron Boone said before Sunday’s game that he expected Volpe to be available off the bench but would make a day-to-day decision on whether to start him Monday in Minnesota.
“We’ll do what’s best every day,” Boone said. He praised Caballero’s recent work: “He’s been good. Overall, on the year, if you add up Tampa [Bay] and here, he’s really good out there.”
Caballero, 29, was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline and has been used across the diamond, logging time at second, third and short infield positions and both corner outfield spots. He said the consistent playing time helps and emphasized team results over individual roles. “I’m trying to help the team. It doesn’t matter what I do. As long as we keep winning games, I’m gonna be happy,” he said.
The Yankees have shown a greater willingness to use Caballero at short while Volpe has been compromised and in a prolonged slump. Caballero is 6-for-18 with two doubles and a home run while filling in for Volpe, and his defense has been described by the club as above average. Boone acknowledged a few miscues, citing a throwing error on an attempted double play and some messy footwork, but added that the player’s confidence and ease on the field are valuable traits.
“Part of that is he plays the game with such ease,” Boone said. “[He plays] with real confidence and sometimes, though, he keeps moving his feet. But you don’t want to take away the confidence he plays the game with and the fearlessness with which he plays [it].”
Volpe had remained in the everyday lineup for the first two-plus weeks after the trade before aggravating the injury, sitting the final two games against Detroit and appearing on the bench for all three games at Fenway. The sequence has left the Yankees weighing shortstop options as the regular season approaches its stretch run and the postseason looms.
The situation recalls earlier Yankees infields that split time at short — 2022’s ALCS run featured Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza sharing duties — and highlights why the club had hoped Volpe’s health would allow continuity after naming him Opening Day shortstop in 2023. Instead, the club faces a near-term choice between sticking with a longstanding regular compromised by injury or riding the recent play of a versatile newcomer.
New York’s front office and coaching staff have not announced a long-term plan, and Boone reiterated that the club will evaluate the situation daily. For now, Caballero’s performance in both the field and at the plate has given the Yankees a viable shortstop option as they navigate the final weeks before the postseason.