NEW YORK – In one of the most unusual trades in recent memory, the New York Yankees acquired versatile infielder Jose Caballero from the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle of their game Thursday afternoon.
The announcement created one of the most unusual moments of the MLB season. The game was paused for a two-hour, 45-minute rain delay. During this break, the business of baseball took center stage. Caballero, preparing to return to the field, was in the batting cage. Rays manager Kevin Cash then pulled him aside. He delivered the news: Caballero was no longer a Ray. He was now a New York Yankee.
Cameras captured the surreal scene. Caballero walked through the visitor’s dugout at Yankee Stadium. He said his goodbyes to his former teammates. Then, he made the short walk across the field to the home clubhouse to join his new team. It was a bizarre and public switch of allegiances.
A Yankees trade you won’t believe
The Yankees and Rays were in the final game of a four‑game series at Yankee Stadium when the deal occurred. Caballero had entered the game in the fifth inning playing second base after a rain delay. As the teams took the field in the seventh, the club announced he was now wearing pinstripes. Everson Pereira and a player to be named later or cash were sent to Tampa Bay in return.
Caballero took a short walk from the Rays’ dugout to the Yankees’ clubhouse. Cameras captured emotional hugs with former teammates, including Brandon Lowe and Taylor Walls, with Walls appearing notably surprised by the timing of the news.
Speed, versatility, baseball IQ head to the Bronx
The Yankees are banking on Caballero’s elite speed and defensive flexibility. He’s tied for the Major League lead with 34 stolen bases this season and led the American League with 44 steals in 2024. He can play nearly every position: shortstop, second, third and all three outfield spots. In 2025, he’s committed few defensive miscues while appearing in 86 games, batting .226 with 27 RBIs.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone praised Caballero’s impact. He described Caballero as a “scrappy, tough player.” He also called him a “very useful player for us.”
“I’ve said it for many, many years now,” Rays manager Kevin Cash added. “Cabby does a lot to help you win baseball games, whether it’s defensively or on the bases.”
Caballero has played 31 games in the outfield, 31 at shortstop, 27 at third base and 16 at second base for the Rays this season. He has committed just three errors at shortstop and four at second base.
Caballero speaks: ‘I was winning today regardless’
After being informed of the deal by Rays manager Kevin Cash during the rain delay, Caballero shared that he took it in stride. “Everything happened so quickly. You have to pick up and move over, switch teams. And now you’ve got to give your best and hopefully bring a championship to this city” (MLB.com).
During his postgame interview in the Yankees’ clubhouse, he was still adjusting to his new reality.
“I was winning today regardless. We won the game, I guess. That’s what I feel right now,” Caballero said with wry understatement (SI).
For Caballero, the moment was a whirlwind of emotion. He acknowledged the strangeness of the situation but appeared ready for the challenge.
Mid‑game maneuvering: A rare occurrence, historic examples
Single games do not usually double as trade zones. But this deadline, in‑game deals have become an unorthodox trend.
0n July 30, 2025, Seranthony Domínguez was traded from the Baltimore Orioles to the Toronto Blue Jays between games of a doubleheader. He simply walked from one clubhouse to the other and pitched in Game 2—striking out players he had been teammates with earlier that day.
Other examples: in the 1920s, Cliff Heathcote and Max Flack were traded between Cardinals and Cubs during a doubleheader. In 2024, Danny Jansen played for both the Blue Jays and Red Sox in the same game due to suspension and resumption across teams.
The bizarre scene with Caballero brings to mind one of the most unique days in baseball history, belonging to Joel Youngblood. On August 4, 1982, Youngblood started the day as a member of the New York Mets.
That afternoon, he played in a game at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs. Youngblood hit a two-run single for the Mets. After the hit, he was pulled from the game. He learned he had been traded to the Montreal Expos.
But Youngblood’s day was far from over. He rushed to Philadelphia, where the Expos were playing the Phillies that night. He arrived in time to enter the game as a pinch-hitter. In his first at-bat with his new team, he singled. This made Joel Youngblood the only player in MLB history to get a hit for two different teams on the same day. The Expos acquired him in exchange for a player to be named later, who eventually became pitcher Tom Gorman. Youngblood, an outfielder and third baseman, went on to have a solid career, posting a .265 batting average with 80 home runs over 14 seasons.
While Caballero didn’t play for both teams in one day, his mid-game journey from one dugout to the other provided a memorable moment. It serves as a modern reminder of baseball’s unpredictable nature and the sudden reality of the trade deadline. The Yankees hope his short walk across the diamond is the first step toward a long and successful run in the Bronx.
Still, Caballero’s case stands out. No one has ever been dealt mid‑game while actually playing for the opposing team.
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