Cabrera optioned down by Yankees

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that a few members of the team are dealing with food poisoning, so perhaps Jones is one of them. The 25-year-old is hitting .225/.313/.366 in his 80 MLB plate appearances this season with a 42.5 percent strikeout rate and a 20.5 percent swinging strike rate. With Trent Grisham (hamstring) set to return this weekend, Jones may be headed back to Triple-A. Jose Caballero will start in center field on Wednesday with Oswald Cabrera at third base and Amed Rosario at designated hitter.

Cabrera was hitting .271/.330/.397 with seven home runs and six steals in 68 games at Triple-A. The Yankees will likely use Jose Caballero at third base with Ryan McMahon (illness) on the injured list, so Cabrera would just be up for a bench role.

It’ll most likely be J.C. Escarra, Paul Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario and Randal Grichuk in bench roles for the Yankees to open the season. Cabrera has hit .234/.295/.346 with 20 homers and 15 steals in 949 plate appearances for the Yankees since 2022. Schuemann was acquired from the Athletics in a trade last month and projects as a utility infielder at the highest level.

Boone added that Oswaldo Cabrera will be optioned to Triple-A. This was the most logical outcome after former top prospect Jasson Domínguez was shipped to Triple-A on Friday. Grichuk was in camp as a non-roster invitee vying for a spot on the club’s bench. He’ll get opportunities against left-handed pitching whenever Trent Grisham or Cody Bellinger need a break.

Cabrera finally broke through and started the scoring with an RBI single in the eighth inning of this one. He then came around to score on an RBI double off the bat of Ali Sanchez. THe 27-year-old infielder is still working his way back into full-time action after recovering from a fractured ankle that he suffered last May. He’s just 2-for-14 (.143) with a pair of runs scored and an RBI on the spring, but the important thing is that he’s healthy.

The utility infielder has been sidelined all spring training while dealing with a fractured ankle suffered in May 2025. It’s unknown if he’ll have enough runway to be ready for the regular season or if the Yankees will carry him, but this certainly seems to be enough time for him to ramp into those situations.

Cabrera is going through drills and appears to be moving well, but has not practiced sliding yet and has not appeared in any spring games. Cabrera is set to begin the season as a utility player off the bench, so if he were to start the year on the injured list, that would open up a chance for Amed Rosario to see more playing time and Paul DeJong, Zack Short, Braden Shewmake, or Jorbit Vivas, who all have no minor league options, to make the Yankees Opening Day roster

Cabrera fractured his ankle in May and missed the rest of the 2025 campaign; finishing with a .243/.322/.308 slash in 122 plate appearances. The infielder will compete for a utility spot with the Yankees in 2026.

This move is just procedural so that the Yankees can make room on the 40-man roster for LHP Jayvien Sandridge. Cabrera fractured his ankle in May and will remain out for a while.

There’s no timetable yet for Cabrera’s return, but it’s obviously months away. The infielder suffered a fracture on a non-contact play while scoring on a sac fly last night. He was hitting .243/.322/.308 in 122 plate appearances this season.