Ryan Garcia
Oswaldo Cabrera’s status following a traumatic ankle injury is still ‘TBD’ for Opening Day according to Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone, who spoke to the media earlier today regarding the utilityman’s status.
He has been progressing through drills and is moving well, but he has yet to practice sliding and has not appeared in a Spring Training game yet.
Whether the Yankees will have him make the Opening Day roster or put him in Triple-A to build up further remains to be seen, and it creates a question of who the team’s backup shortstop would be if not Cabrera.
Max Scheumann and Paul DeJong are among the options for the Yankees’ in camp who have experience at shortstop, with the former already being on the 40-man roster.
READ MORE: Ryan Weathers to make Yankees’ debut tomorrow against Nationals
Opening Day Is Not a Certainty for Oswaldo Cabrera, Yankees’ Final Bench Spot Could Be Open
Oswaldo Cabrera came into last season as the starting third baseman after an injury to DJ LeMahieu and the departure of Gleyber Torres, which put Jazz Chisholm back at second base where he is a better defensive infielder.
He produced a .631 OPS and 0.1 WAR before fracturing his ankle in Seattle, as the switch-hitter slid into home plate and had his season come to a difficult end with an ugly injury.
Since the incident he has been working back to the Major Leagues and still hopes to make it in time for Opening Day, but the Yankees have been noncommittal about it to this point.
This opens the door for a fourth bench spot to be opened up for Opening Day, with some interesting options who could make the team out of camp as a result.
Paul DeJong has the most shortstop experience among options currently in camp, logging over 6,000 innings at the position at the Major League level.
He recorded a 76 wRC+ with six home runs in 57 games with the Washington Nationals, primarily playing third base for the team.
As for Max Scheumann, he spent last year with the Athletics and spent 24 of his 101 games at shortstop, putting up a 62 wRC+ and only hitting two home runs.
Brian Cashman refused to close the door on an addition for the bench, but the Yankees will likely not spend a ton of money to fill out a final bench spots.
More about:New York Yankees
