NEW YORK — Jose Caballero has spent his career proving he belongs on the dirt at shortstop.
The Yankees star plays six positions, but the six-hole was always home. Caballero is a two-time reigning American League stolen base champion and one of the game’s most disruptive pests. He also thought, earlier this year, that the everyday job should have been his.
But the Yankees have decided that George Lombard Jr., their top prospect and long considered an untouchable piece of the farm system, is their everyday shortstop. The 21-year-old earned the promotion after 333 minor league games, 56 of them this season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The move came in a wave of roster changes that ran deeper than the two hitters the Yankees added at the trade deadline, first baseman Luis García Jr. from the Nationals and outfielder Heliot Ramos from the Giants. In the same stretch, the Yankees optioned Anthony Volpe, who had been platooning with Caballero at short, and sent outfielder Jasson Domínguez and reliever Angel Chivilli to Triple-A.
For Caballero, the message inside the message was clear. The Yankees will no longer set the shortstop lineup day to day based on matchups, feel or who is swinging a hot bat. The position belongs to Lombard now. Caballero, a natural shortstop, becomes a bench piece.
Caballero puts Yankees ahead of own preference
Jose Caballero did not disguise where his heart sits with the Yankees. He made plain that shortstop is the spot he loves most, then made equally plain that his preference does not drive the decision.
“My preference, what I enjoy the most, is playing short,” Caballero said as per NJ.com. “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.”
The Yankees star framed the conversation with Boone around one goal, and it was not his own playing time.
“I told Boone that I’m part of this team and I’m just trying to win a World Series,” Caballero added. “That’s all that matters to me.”
The acceptance is notable given the backdrop. Earlier this season, when a 10-day injured list stint with a broken finger opened the door for Volpe to return and reclaim most of the starts, Caballero said openly that he believed he deserved to remain the starter. He was not stirring conflict. He was being honest about his confidence. This time, there was buy-in from the first minute.
A veteran sends a message about rookie taking his job
What makes Caballero’s stance land harder is that he did not undercut the player replacing him. The Yankees veteran watched Lombard closely in spring training and came away convinced. He saw the right-handed power, the range, the arm and a maturity beyond the rookie’s age.
He saw it again in the debut. Lombard opened his big league career Tuesday by starting a double play with a slick defensive play and homering in a 2-0 Yankees win over the Cardinals. Caballero offered a full-throated endorsement of the young shortstop.
“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.”
The practical fallout is real. Caballero started 90 of the Yankees’ first 113 games, 61 of them at shortstop, before sitting out Lombard’s first two starts. Now he projects as a bench player who might start once or twice a week, spelling Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base against tough left-handers or sliding to third when Ryan McMahon sits.
What the shakeup means for the Yankees down the stretch
Caballero, who turns 30 on Aug. 30, is not going anywhere long term. He has three more years of team control beyond this season, and an injury in the infield could push him back into regular duty at any moment. He also knows the churn hurts people he respects.
He felt for Volpe, a fellow Yankees shortstop and friend who shares his fandom for FC Barcelona, and for others swept up in the roster crunch. He spoke about the human cost of a numbers game that spares no one.
“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.”
The Yankees utility star extended that same empathy to Max Schuemann, now in Scranton, and Oswaldo Cabrera, who did not make the team this year, calling the demotions a hard but unavoidable part of the sport.
For now, the focus stays on the season in front of them. The Yankees enter the weekend at 64-51, second in the AL East and four games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays, while holding a wild-card spot. They open a home series against the Atlanta Braves on Friday with a new everyday shortstop and a veteran who gave up the position without a fight.
Caballero summed up his outlook in the language of a player chasing October, not playing time.
“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,” Caballero said.
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