The Yankees brought Clarke Schmidt back from the 60-day injured list on September 16, 2026, and the move came with the kind of roster squeeze that tells you exactly where a player stands. Oswaldo Cabrera was designated for assignment.
Prior to today’s game, New York announced the pair of transactions: Schmidt was returned from his rehab assignment and reinstated, while Cabrera was the odd man out.
It is a harsh turn for a player who has meant a lot more in the clubhouse than his role suggested on the field. Cabrera was once viewed as a possible 20-homer bat who could bounce around the diamond and contribute anywhere. Over time, though, he became more of a flexible stopgap than a fixed piece of the Yankees’ future.
That shift has been building for a while. His ankle injury against the Mariners last season took him out of the lineup and changed his path with the club.
Then, in 2024, he was forced into emergency first-base duty during New York’s World Series run after Anthony Rizzo’s late-season injury. By 2026 spring training, he was back on the field, but still without a clear role.
This season never really changed that. Cabrera was promoted in an emergency situation for three games and went hitless in nine at-bats, including a rough extra-inning appearance against Detroit during the June/July swoon. For the rest of the year, he was largely separated from the group chasing a playoff spot in Scranton, much like his 2025 exile.
The Yankees had already hinted at where this was headed. Last week, when a promotion spot opened up, they chose Anthony Volpe instead of Cabrera. Volpe’s hot start made that call look right, and it helped lock in Cabrera’s fate.
Schmidt’s return now gives New York another arm to work with, and his rehab assignment had made him look like a possible postseason weapon. Cabrera, meanwhile, is leaving with some value still intact. He’s hitting .288 with a .790 OPS in the high minors this year, and a team looking for versatility late in the season will likely want him.
Just not the Yankees.
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Aaron Judges exit in the sixth inning with tightness in his lower right leg quickly turned the afternoon into more than just a blown chance at the standings. Clarke Schmidt also made his return from elbow surgery, giving the Yankees another notable arm back, but the bigger concern now is whether Judges issue lingers after a game that already had enough frustration to go around. [Read more 🡒]