Oswaldo Cabrera is making the most of his opportunity
The Yankees’ unlikely Opening Day third baseman is making the case for an expanded role this season.
www.pinstripealley.com/2024/4/2/24117210/yankees-analysis-oswaldo-cabrera-houston-astros-jon-berti-oswald-peraza-opening-dayIn Major League Baseball, tides can turn quickly.
Oswaldo Cabrera entered the 2023 season with serious expectations. He had earned a starting role after bursting on the scene the previous August, posting a .740 OPS in 171 plate appearances and flashing the leather at six different positions while accumulating 13 DRS in just 367 defensive innings. Despite struggling that postseason, the 24-year-old still got the nod in left field on Opening Day 2023. If he could hit near league average, his stellar defense was likely to make him a reliable starter. If he could perform at his 2022 level, he appeared poised for a breakout.
Instead, Cabrera had a historically awful season at the plate, posting a .574 OPS and 60 wRC+, second worst and third worst in the AL, respectively, among players with at least 300 plate appearances. Even more surprising, he took a big step back defensively, posting -4 DRS while once again moving around the diamond.
After that fall from grace, the versatile Cabrera entered this offseason as something of an afterthought. As John Griffin detailed in February, he wasn’t even guaranteed an MLB roster spot, let alone a starting role. Oswald Peraza’s shoulder injury left the Yankees with little choice but to break camp with Cabrera on the 26-man roster. Then, DJ LeMahieu’s foot injury opened the door for Cabrera to secure an unlikely second-straight Opening Day start, this time at third.
It didn’t hurt that Cabrera’s bat showed signs of life this spring. After a sluggish start, Cabrera heated up in the final week of exhibition games. He hit two home runs that week, the first of which was a towering, 395-foot shot, a distance he reached only twice all of last season.
Nothing Cabrera accomplished in spring training could have prepared the Yankees for how he performed in Houston to open the season, though. Starting all four games on the left side of the infield, Cabrera hit .438 with two home runs and a 1.346 OPS. Minuscule sample, but still startling results. Cabrera’s average exit velocity of 87.8 mph last year was well below average; in this season’s opening series, 7 of the 10 balls he hit came off the bat at more than 90 mph.
Some of them much more. On Opening Day, Cabrera turned on an inside ball off the plate from Rafael Montero, pulling it into the right-field seats for a game-tying homer with an exit velocity of 99.6 mph.
But it was a groundball single against Framber Valdez earlier that game that was his hardest-hit ball of the series, coming off the bat at 100.3 mph and helping to key the first rally of the season. Notably, that hit came with Cabrera batting from his ostensibly-weaker right side — the switch-hitter has been toying with batting lefty against some left-handed pitchers, and even faced Josh Hader from the left side on Saturday night.
If Cabrera can keep hitting the ball hard and build on his hot start, he could fill a valuable role upon LeMahieu’s return. Despite his disappointing performance, Cabrera’s durability and defensive versatility got him into 113 games last season, fourth highest on the team. If he can put together consistently competitive at-bats and stabilize his defense, he could quickly settle into a near-everyday super-utility job.
Cabrera’s gain could be Peraza’s loss, who was entering something of a make-or-break season before getting hurt. As in years past, there may not be a spot open for Peraza once he is cleared to play if Cabrera has established himself as the Yankees’ primary infield insurance policy, throwing the 23-year-old’s future with the club into jeopardy.
There’s another factor that may mitigate Cabrera’s ascent. On the eve of Opening Day, the Yankees acquired Jon Berti. Berti, who played in 133 games at five positions with Miami last year, occupies a similar role as Cabrera but with a more consistent track record on offense and superior speed on the bases; Berti’s sprint speed was in the 95th percentile last season while Cabrera’s was in the 63rd percentile.
If the Yankees’ roster remains healthy (a big if!), difficult decisions will need to be made once LeMahieu, Peraza, and other impact players like Jasson Domínguez return. On paper, the 34-year-old Berti might have the edge over Cabrera to stay on the roster and secure playing time due to his experience and speed off the bench.
However, manager Aaron Boone gave Cabrera an early vote of confidence in the opening series, penciling him into his third straight lineup to start the season despite previous reporting from Bryan Hoch that Berti was expected to make his Yankee debut at third in that game.
When asked if Cabrera’s dynamic start made it difficult to take him out of the lineup, Boone conceded “a little bit, yeah,” noting that his erstwhile bench player has been “right in the middle of everything” to open the season. In the fourth and final game of the Astros series, Berti finally got his first start while Cabrera slid over to short to spell Anthony Volpe, who was a late scratch with an upset stomach.
With the news that LeMahieu’s foot injury is not just a bone bruise but a non-displaced fracture, Cabrera should get an extended chance to show he can still make an impact at the major league level. In that showcase, the stakes will be high. If he can continue to rise to the occasion, Cabrera could render his dismal 2023 as nothing more than a speed bump on his path to a successful major league career. If he falters, he could fall behind the likes of Berti and Peraza in the pecking order. However Cabrera’s season ends up, though, he’s already left his mark on the 2024 Yankees through an opening series for the ages.
