Right now, Oswaldo Cabrera is putting in a lot of work to have a successful season. The Yankees’ utility guy is trying to improve his swing after a brutal slump caused his average to go below .200 and his home run total to tumble to just one in 28 games.
The reason behind Oswaldo Cabrera’s slump
Oswaldo Cabrera, who made a strong impression after being called up in September of last year, is putting more power into his hits this year compared to 2022.
Can you believe it? This year, in just 44 major league games, Oswaldo Cabrera has been knocking it into the ground. According to FanGraphs, nearly half of his hits (48.6% to be exact) have been ground balls. That’s a significant improvement from last year’s measly 28.2%. One might think he has been hitting those grounders with a shovel instead of a bat! Whatever the case, he’s definitely been putting in the work and it’s paying off big time.
This week, when he was asked about the team’s ground-ball problem, Oswaldo Cabrera responded,
“We are focusing on that and making the adjustments. The last couple series I’ve been doing much better with it.”
The season began well, buts struggle sets in
Oswaldo Cabrera began the season as the starting left fielder after beating out Aaron Hicks in spring training, and he hit nicely for a few weeks while also demonstrating his defensive versatility. Except for the catcher, pitcher, and center field, he has already played every position on the field. Oswaldo Cabrera, on the other hand, is 3-for-29 in his last ten games, dropping his season average to .196.
The 24-year-old acknowledged that he attempting to do too much and noted that as a result, the ball was being hit into the ground. Even though his defensive versatility gives him a lot of chances to be in the lineup, it may be hard for him to get starts in the outfield with Willie Calhoun and Jake Bauers possibly coming up and center fielder Harrison Bader coming back from the injured list.
Calhoun has done a great job by hitting home runs in two straight games. On Wednesday, Bauers, who had nine home runs in 21 Triple-A games, hit his first home run as a Yankee. Even Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who usually doesn’t hit very hard, has been doing better than Cabrera since he started playing left field.
Oswaldo Cabrera might get more infield time with Josh Donaldson still sidelined. However, his batting performance needs to improve for Aaron Boone to justify giving him considerable playing time. Considering Oswaldo Cabrera has only walked four times and struck out 19 times, this is crucial information to have.
In a statement this week, the Yankees manager Aaron Boone admitted:
“I don’t think he’s far off. I think with a lot of hitters, but I think with Oswaldo, it’s about the pitches you do get something to do with. He’s probably fouled off more than he should.”
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