José Caballero is prepared to step up in Aaron Judge’s absence.
Still awaiting the results of more extra imaging on Aaron Judge’s upper right rib cage and chest, the Yankees had Caballero back in right field in the captain’s place for their 5-4 loss to the Guardians on Wednesday night in The Bronx.
It was Caballero’s second assignment in right field since Judge has been unavailable after not having taken many reps in that spot since last season.
“Whatever the manager needs, I’ll be able to do it and more than happy to do so,” he said after going 2-for-4 from the plate with a solo home run that pulled the Yankees within one in the fourth inning Wednesday night.
His fourth-inning homer was his fifth of the season, but the play went under review first.
A fan caught the ball, which just barely made it into the stands at 364 feet. Cleveland’s Angel Martinez chased it into the wall, but pointed up at the fan after it was ruled a home run on the field.
Caballero said he wasn’t concerned the homer would get overturned, but he was sure it was going to go out.
“He’s a player, man,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Caballero before the game. “Just have a lot of confidence with him anywhere on the field. You saw his first day out in left field in Kansas City, first play of the game, there’s a rocket hit right at him and he lays out, makes a great play. So just a really good baseball player that you trust in a lot of places.”
After hitting five home runs through 126 games in 2025, the Yankees utility player now has five through 51 games this season.
He has also reached base safely in 30 of his last 36 games with a plate appearance, dating back to April 13.
Over that span, Caballero has slashed .303/.362/.479 with 19 runs, six doubles, 12 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.
The 29-year-old wasn’t sure if the plan was for him to continue taking a majority of the reps in right field going forward without Judge.
Asked if he had a chance to work in right field prior to the last two days, Caballero downplayed it as a necessity.
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“I feel like it’s not like a big need,” Caballero said. “Now, I’m able to do the job out there and I’ll be ready to play whatever position.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
