Braden

Shewmake

Shewmake, starting at shortstop on Saturday with both Carlos Correa and Jeremy Peña sidelined, put the Astros on the board for their only run with a solo homer off Chase Burns in the fifth inning. The 28-year-old infielder’s time with the team could be limited with Jeremy Peña (hamstring) nearing a rehab assignment.

Correa will visit a foot specialist on Wednesday. It’s probably a good thing that that is the left ankle, as opposed to the right one that caused Correa to flunk physicals with the Mets and Giants as a free agent three years ago. Still, a lengthy absence appears likely here. The Astros will get by with Nick Allen and Braden Shewmake until Jeremy Peña comes off the IL, something that will hopefully happen next week. While this is definitely a blow, it at least will serve to settle the Houston infield, with Isaac Paredes playing third regularly and Yordan Alvarez DHing most of the time.

Shewmake’s homer on a 99-mph fastball was a 337-footer into the Crawford Boxes. Statcast said it would have been a homer in four ballparks, but it was a pretty impressive piece of hitting regardless. It was his third homer in 85 plate appearances as a major leaguer. He’s 4-for-13 with two homers since the Astros added him.

Neither is Carlos Correa. The Astros will roll with a double play combination of Brice Matthews at second base and Braden Shewmake at shortstop against RHP Brandon Young.

It appears to be nothing more than a regular day of maintenance for the 35-year-old infielder. Braden Shewmake will start in his place at second base and will bat ninth against Yankees’ right-hander Luis Gil on Sunday afternoon in Houston.

Shewmake was just acquired from the Yankees on Sunday, and he will now be up with the Astros with Nick Allen (back) on the injured list. Shewmake will serve as a reserve infielder with Carlos Correa regularly starting at shortstop and Isaac Paredes at third base.

Shewmake, 28, was off to a slow start at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, slashing .250/.314/.313 with zero homers, one RBI and one stolen base in his first 36 plate appearances. A glove-first infielder, Shewmake will add depth at the Triple-A level for the Astros.

Neither player was a serious candidate to crack the Yankees’ Opening Day roster, but Luciano definitely didn’t help his cause during Grapefruit League play. He hit just .040 (1-for-25) with 10 strikeouts. Yikes. He’ll look to get back on track at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start the 2026 campaign.

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

Shewmake had been designated for assignment late last week but passed through waivers unclaimed and will continue to function as extra infield depth for the Yankees. He’ll stay in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.