Suspense over Oswaldo Cabrera after Bader returns

Monday September 19, 2022

Harrison Bader has fully recovered from plantar fasciitis and he is returning to the Yankees’ lineup against the Pirates. His return is going to impact many current players, including recently promoted Oswaldo Cabrera.

New York is set to host Pittsburgh for a tw0-game series starting on Tuesday.

It was the first game for Bader with the Yankees, who got the 2021 Golden Glove winner in the much-criticized Jordan Montgomery deadline-day trade. The former Cardinal was healing his plantar fasciitis-affected leg when he arrived in New York. As result, the Yankees put him on the 60-day injured list. He has not played any MLB game since July 26.

When Bader comes back from his foot injury, which has kept him out of action for most of the season, the Yankees are likely to put him in center field. This will send Aaron Judge back in the right field, where he belongs. But what does that mean for Oswaldo Cabrera, a very good rookie?

The Yankees have started Cabrera’s conditioning in left field in the hopes that he can step in that position once Bader he returns.

Oswaldo Cabrera is taking some fly balls in left field this morning. #Yankees are preparing their choices with Harrison Bader set to take over CF on Tuesday.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) September 18, 2022

Giancarlo Stanton would play first base, Judge would play right field, Bader would play center field, and Cabrera would play left field. Even though the rookie hasn’t played right field much before, he’s been a delight to see there. In short, Oswaldo Cabrera is a great fielder, and the Yankees will do whatever it takes to keep him in the lineup.

Andrew Benintendi is another player the team got at the trade deadline. Aaron Boone hopes he can play this year after recovering from a wrist hamate surgery. But the Yankees can confirm in 7–10 days if that’s a possibility.

Bader is expected to take over in the center field, which will give Oswaldo Cabrera another challenge unless Boone insists on putting Aaron Hicks in left field. This year, the Yankees have given Oswaldo Cabrera a lot of new challenges, and he has risen to every one of them. Moving to left field doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch for the young, hungry rookie.

Oswaldo Cabrera topped the Double-A in hits and runs in 2021. He was promoted to play at the Triple-A RailRiders before his MLB debut in August this year.

Where should Oswaldo Cabrera play? Shouldn’t the Yankees give him regular playing time?