Yankees becoming more of a running team, thanks to Jose Caballero and Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. steals second base against the Giants during the fifth inning on March 25, 2026, in San Francisco. Credit: AP/Jeff Chiu
When Jose Caballero was with the Rays, he thought of the AL East rival Yankees as "a power team.”
“[They’re] known for the long ball and getting those runs by hitting homers and hitting the ball hard,” Caballero, acquired by the Yankees last July 31, told Newsday before Saturday night’s game against the Marlins at the Stadium.
“But we can also have some speed in there, you know?”
They sure can.
Caballero, the MLB leader in stolen bases last season with 49 in 60 attempts, and Jazz Chisholm Jr., who had 31 in 39 tries, are leading the Yankees’ early-season effort to become more aggressive on the basepaths. Entering Saturday’s game, the Yankees led the American League with 11 stolen bases in 14 attempts and were second in MLB behind Milwaukee in successful steals.
“I feel like that's the ability that our whole team has, that we're able to do: use our legs and use our athletic abilities,” Chisholm told Newsday. “We challenge each other out there. We want everybody to go steal bags. We even want [Giancarlo Stanton] to steal bags. So for us, it's just having fun playing our game and enjoying it, really.”
In Friday afternoon’s 8-2 win over Miami, the Yankees scored two runs in the second inning without recording a hit. That run production stemmed from Chisholm and Caballero both scoring after putting pressure on Eury Perez with their legs. Chisholm had a leadoff walk and stole second and third. Caballero came up two batters later with one out, working a walk himself and stealing second. The two of them entered Saturday with seven steals in eight attempts.
“It's fun,” said Caballero, who began his pro career in the Diamondbacks’ farm system along with Chisholm. “We've been doing it for a couple days now, and we did it growing up in the minor leagues as well. So it's fun when you have a guy that does the same as you out there, and just having fun out there is great. It’s helping the team as well, so it’s good all-around.”
Said Chisholm: “It's a great add to have Jose on our team because he also steals bags just like I do. But we've had guys stealing bags already. [Since] I got here, it’s been a thing of stealing bags. So I think it's cool that we got to add more guys that already know how to really go out there and steal bags.
“Like, he was the league leader in bags last season, and that's just amazing to have on your team.”
Entering Saturday, Chisholm — who has said he is aiming for a 50-homer/50-steal season and reiterated that Saturday — had four stolen bases. Caballero had three, Cody Bellinger had two, and Trent Grisham and Aaron Judge had one apiece.
Aaron Boone noted after Friday’s win that the Yankees became a team that can take advantage of the basepaths in the second half of last season. Before last year’s All-Star break, the Yankees had 63 stolen bases, good for 18th-most in MLB. They had 71 stolen bases after the All-Star break, tied for the third-most in baseball in the second half of the season.
In 2024, the Yankees stole only 88 bases, the 24th-most in the majors. What led to the change?
“Personnel,” Boone said. “You bring in Caballero, who that's obviously a big part of his game. There was a stretch in the middle of the season when Jazz went on the IL and then came back, he wasn't running right away. So I think our personnel helped with that a little bit, but we felt like we could get to that point to where we could push the envelope a little more on the bases and have some guys that can steal bases . . . Just the flow of the season and where guys were in their season lent itself to being able to do that a little more late.
“We want to carry that into this year and hopefully be even better.”
So far, so good.
When asked if his arrival changed how the Yankees approach baserunning, Caballero said: “Maybe, maybe. I don't really know. I'm just trying to do my part, my job, trying to be aggressive on the bases and just lead with examples so the guys want to follow what I do out there. It's great.
“I think we have the tools to do it, and it's going to make us better.”
Notes & quotes: Luis Gil, who is scheduled to start Sunday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, will rejoin the Yankees as their fifth starter in the rotation’s next turn. He is expected to make his season debut Friday at Tampa Bay . . . Gerrit Cole (Tommy John recovery) and Carlos Rodon (elbow/hamstring) threw bullpen sessions Saturday.
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
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