Oswaldo

Cabrera

Cabrera is hitting .333/.405/.515 in 37 plate appearances. He should have third base all to himself initially with DJ LeMahieu set to miss some time, and it’s possible he’ll manage to run away with the job. Still, there isn’t a lot of mixed-league upside here.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone made it clear that Cabrera was not dealing with any sort of injury; he’s simply sick. Cabrera is the favorite to start at third base for the Yankees to begin the season and is hitting .286/.333/.392 in 30 plate appearances this spring. He doesn’t have a ton of power or speed, but he makes a good amount of contact and hits in a good lineup, which makes him a fine late-round pick in deeper formats.

The veteran got his MRI results on Tuesday, and they revealed a mild strain in his calf. Given his long injury history, we should assume that he will recover at the end of his timeframe, which means a couple of weeks with no activity and then time to rebuild his strength. He will almost certainly begin the season on the IL, which means that Oswaldo Cabrera is the favorite to start at 3B for the Yankees and could take control of the job if he plays well early on.

We’re not sure how enthusiastic those check-ins are, but Cabrera hit .247/.296/.365 in 326 plate appearances in 2024. We know the Yankees are trying to add talent at second base, so it would appear that they don’t see Cabrera as a real contender for that job. The switch-hitter hit just .190/.229/.241 against left-handed pitching, so perhaps if he stops switch-hitting or improves dramatically as a right-handed hitter there could be another level of production.

Rizzo is just two weeks removed from fracturing two fingers. He missed the entire ALDS against the Royals but is not only back on the active roster but in the starting lineup for the Yankees. That will push both Jon Berti and Oswaldo Cabrera back to bench roles.

Cabrera got the start in Game 1, and after sitting Game 2, the 25-year-old utility player will get another outing at the not-so-hot corner in Game 3 against Seth Lugo. Jon Berti will retreat to the bench after starting Game 2. The rest of the lineup behind Clarke Schmidt: 2B Gleyber Torres, RF Juan Soto, CF Aaron Judge, C Austin Wells, DH Giancarlo Stanton, 2B Jazz Chisholm Jr., SS Anthony Volpe, 1B Cabrera and LF Alex Verdugo.

Verdugo over Jasson Domínguez was expected, but Cabrera over Ben Rice is a surprise. Cabrera didn’t play much in September, going 6-for-25 during the final month of the season. He made five starts at first base over the course of the year. The Yankees lineup: 2B Gleyber Torres, RF Juan Soto, CF Aaron Judge, C Austin Wells, DH Giancarlo Stanton, 3B Jazz Chisholm Jr., SS Anthony Volpe, 1B Cabrera, LF Verdugo.

With Anthony Rizzo sidelined with two fractured fingers, the Yankees are looking for other options at first base. It seems likely that the left-handed hitting Ben Rice would start against right-handed pitchers and the switch-hitting Oswaldo Cabrera could start against lefties. Rice got off to a hot start when he got his first shot to take Rizzo’s playing time, but he faded down the stretch, finishing the year hitting .171/.264/.349 with seven home runs in 50 games. Having either Rice or Cabrera in the lineup just furthers the concerns about the bottom of the Yankees lineup.

Volpe will get a day off to start the three-game set against Seattle. Oswaldo Cabrera will instead be the starter at shortstop behind Luis Gil and the Yankees’ pitching staff. Volpe has really struggled thus far in September with a .163 average, no extra base hits, and 17 strikeouts over 49 at-bats.

The Yankees have settled on a platoon at third base with Cabrera playing against all righties and Oswald Peraza starting against all lefties. While that would generally be good news for Cabrera, after Thursday’s game, five of the Yankees’ next six games are against left-handed starters which will mean more playing time in the short term for Peraza.