Jose Caballero didn’t hide how he felt after Monday night’s meltdown against the Cardinals. The Yankees had stormed back from a 6-0 hole to grab a 7-6 lead in the seventh, only to watch St. Louis hang seven runs on them in the eighth and walk out of Yankee Stadium with a 13-7 win.
“It was a bad way,” Caballero said of the loss to NJ.com before Wednesday night’s 3-1 Yankees defeat to St. Louis.
“I was frustrated. I showered and left right away.”
Then came the late-night call that changed the shape of the Yankees’ infield.
Manager Aaron Boone rang Caballero after the game to pass along the news that bigger roster shifts were on the way, beyond the additions of first baseman Luis Garcia Jr. from the Nationals on Sunday and outfielder Heliot Ramos from the Giants just before Monday’s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline. The postgame moves also sent Anthony Volpe to the minors after he had been sharing shortstop work with Caballero, while Jasson Dominguez and reliever Angel Chivilli were optioned to Triple-A.
And then came the biggest one of all: the Yankees were calling up 21-year-old shortstop George Lombard Jr., their top prospect and one of the few farmhands they had no intention of moving. He was deemed major league ready after 333 minor-league games, including 56 this season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Caballero understood exactly what that meant. Lombard was arriving to take over as the everyday shortstop.
For Caballero, a player who came up as a shortstop before becoming a six-position super-utility weapon, the news could have landed like a gut punch. Instead, he met it with the kind of team-first stance the Yankees have come to value from him.
“My preference, what I enjoy the most, is playing short,” Caballero said. “But it’s not about me.
It’s about the team and it’s about what we need and what makes us better as a team. I’m always going to be available to do whatever the team wants.”
“I told Boone that I’m part of this team and I’m just trying to win a World Series. That’s all that matters to me.”
That attitude is a big part of Caballero’s appeal in the clubhouse. He’s one of baseball’s most annoying opponents and a two-time reigning AL stolen base champion, but he’s also the kind of player who can handle a role change without turning it into a problem.
Earlier this year, he believed he should have kept the starting shortstop job when a broken finger sent him to the injured list for 10 days and opened the door for Volpe to reclaim more playing time. He was direct then, too.
He wasn’t causing noise; he was speaking his mind.
This time, the message was different. Caballero already knew Boone wouldn’t be sorting out shortstop with day-to-day matchup calls anymore.
He had seen Lombard in spring training and noticed the tools right away: right-handed power, range, arm strength and maturity. The debut on Tuesday only reinforced that impression, as Lombard started a double play with a sharp play at short and added a home run in a 2-0 Yankees win over the Red Birds.
“For sure, Lombard is going to make us better,” Caballero said. “It doesn’t matter that he’s very young.
He’s all about being a professional. He knows what he’s doing.
I know he’s gonna succeed. He’s gonna help the team win games and lock down the defense because he’s a great shortstop.
So for the team, George is a great addition. This guy is going to play for a long time.”
Caballero, who turns 30 on Aug. 30, still has time left in pinstripes. He has three more seasons of team control after this year.
But with Lombard installed at shortstop, his path changes fast. He was out of the lineup for Lombard’s first two games after starting 90 of the Yankees’ first 113, with 61 of those starts coming at short.
Now he’s looking at life as a bench piece who may start once or twice a week. He could still pop up at second base when Jazz Chisholm gets the occasional rest against tough left-handers, and his defense could also make him the preferred right-handed option over Amed Rosario at third when Ryan McMahon sits.
“Obviously, I’m going to get affected by playing time with Lombard here, but like I told Boone, whatever the team needs to do is what really matters.”
That doesn’t mean Caballero is out of the picture entirely. An injury could put him right back into regular duty.
And while the immediate change hits Volpe the hardest, Caballero made clear there’s no hard feelings there. The two shared the same position battle, but also the same clubhouse, and even the same soccer allegiance as big F.C.
Barcelona fans.
“Volpe’s a great kid and a great teammate,” Caballero said. “We always pulled for each other.
I always wish him the best because he’s my teammate. It was always about us trying to beat other teams.
“This is hard for him. It is hard for (Max) Schuemann, who’s down in Scranton now.
It’s hard for (Oswaldo) Cabrera, who didn’t make the team this year. It’s hard for all of them, but that’s how the game is.
You’ve just got to become the best player that you can be and show them that you’re able to help the team. That’s all.”
Looking ahead, Caballero could even be in the mix at second base next season - if there is a new CBA and a 2027 season. Chisholm is headed toward free agency and expects to move on, though his market may not match the $35 million a year for eight to 10 seasons he told NJ.com he would seek during spring training. That’s after a down follow-up to his 30-30 season, one that has him at .217 with 17 homers, 47 RBI and a .694 OPS in 107 games.
For Caballero, though, the focus stays smaller than all that. The future can wait.
“Next year, we have to still see how things develop,” Caballero said. “We don’t even know what’s gonna happen with the lockout. For me, it’s thinking about the moment and trying to help the team win games, make it to postseason and keep advancing to the next bracket.”
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