PHOENIX — The Yankees designated infielder-outfielder Oswaldo Cabrera for assignment Wednesday, clearing a 40-man spot to activate right-hander Clarke Schmidt from the 60-day injured list. The moves came before a 5-4, 13-inning loss to the Twins at Target Field.
What makes the choice sting is the reasoning. This was not a struggling player out of chances. It was a calculated Yankees bet on October, and on keeping one more arm within reach.
Cabrera had done nearly everything right. He rebuilt a shattered ankle. He hit. He played six positions in the minors. And he still lost his Yankees spot.
But the Yankees decided flexibility was worth more than sentiment, then made the math work in a way that protected another possibility down the stretch.
Aaron Boone sounded like a man who did not enjoy it. The decision ended, at least for now, a relationship dating back more than a decade and turned a fan favorite into the season’s most surprising casualty.
A roster spot with a hidden second purpose
On the surface, the swap looks simple. Schmidt was ready, so a body had to come off the 40-man. But the Yankees had cleaner options if they wanted only a spot.
They chose not to. Moving reliever Fernando Cruz to the 60-day injured list would have opened the same spot without touching Cabrera. The Yankees declined on purpose.
Cruz is nursing a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Rather than undergo Tommy John surgery, the 36-year-old is trying a non-surgical route and has not ruled out pitching again this season. Moving him to the 60-day list would have formally ended that hope. The Yankees refused.
So the crunch fell on Cabrera. Keeping Cruz eligible made a well-liked utility man the expendable piece. The DFA was less a verdict on Cabrera than a Yankees hedge on pitching depth.
Boone frames a decision he clearly disliked
Boone did not hide behind roster mechanics. He called the move one of the hardest parts of the job and spent far longer praising Cabrera than explaining it.
“Very difficult,” Boone said. “One of the parts of the game that are tough. You’re fortunate to come across, and I feel like I’m blessed to have a lot of guys on this team that you just admire and respect and love doing the job with on a daily basis, and Oswaldo’s right there at the top of that list. Just who he is, how he goes about things, how he treats people, the competitor he is, the teammate he is.”
The manager then pivoted to the comeback that made the cut feel cruel, and to a Yankees future he still hopes to see.
“The good thing is Oswaldo’s come back from a very difficult injury and had a really good year down at Triple-A,” Boone said. “He’s playing really well, so hopefully this is just one of those things. I’m confident that Oswaldo will go on to have a very good career and hopefully it’s still with us.”
Numbers that make the timing sting
Cabrera, 27, was not fading in the minors. He hit .288 with 19 home runs, 69 RBIs and a .790 OPS across 122 games at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, lining up at six positions.
His major league time was almost nonexistent: three games, 0-for-9, while the Yankees fought through the AL East race. That gap between his Triple-A production and his big league usage turns a routine move into a talking point.
Cabrera signed with the Yankees in 2015 and grew into a genuine clubhouse presence. He played 304 regular-season games in the Bronx, hitting .232 with 20 homers and 95 RBIs, and filled in at emergency first base during the 2024 World Series run. The switch-hitter was the starting third baseman early last season until he blew out his ankle sliding into home in Seattle on May 12, needing season-ending surgery.
Why the depth chart moved past him
The Yankees also had less need for what Cabrera offered. Jose Caballero already handles super-utility duty in the majors, and Max Schuemann added another flexible option. Anthony Volpe’s recall gave the infield more versatility, and his hot bat validated the choice to promote him over Cabrera last week.
Here is the layer few will lead with. Cabrera is believed to retain another minor league option beyond this season, and he already shaped up as a possible non-tender candidate this winter. That made him easier to expose now. The Yankees are betting an extra October arm outweighs depth they could lose to a rival building its 2027 roster.
Schmidt is the reason the spot opened at all. The right-hander returns after more than 14 months lost to his second Tommy John surgery, last pitching for the Yankees on July 3, 2025. He is expected to work out of the bullpen behind the established rotation, a potential multi-inning weapon for October.
Given Cabrera’s season and versatility, the expectation across the sport is that another club claims him.
For the Yankees, the ledger is clear. They gained a rested, high-upside arm and preserved a slim chance Cruz pitches again in 2026. The price was a homegrown favorite who did everything asked and still ran out of room. The Yankees made their choice with the calendar, not the clubhouse, holding the pen.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
It was the wrong move. While I get that Cabrera might very well been non-tendered in November, keeping Bradley Hanner on the 40 is a bigger waste of time. Hanner’s Grade before putting him on the 40 was an A. Since being in the 40, C-. Plus they talked about SWB going for a playoff spot? Well getting rid of their best hitter the last week of there season is moronic.