Yankees' Oswaldo Cabrera finally back in action 10 months after gruesome injury
Yankees' Oswaldo Cabrera taking part in fielding drills during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Feb. 19 in Tampa, Fla. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
TAMPA, Fla. — The setting wasn’t a big-league ballpark, or even a game that counts.
But for Oswaldo Cabrera, who started at shortstop for the Yankees in Friday night’s Grapefruit League game against the Rays at Steinbrenner Field, it was a distinction without a difference.
“After being almost 10 months not playing and being down there with my guys, it’s something that feels like it’s my MLB debut or my first World Series appearance,” the serially upbeat Cabrera said Friday afternoon. “You can’t imagine how happy I feel.”
The last time Cabrera appeared in game action of any kind was memorable for all the wrong reasons. Last May 12 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, the utilityman suffered a gruesome left ankle fracture on an awkward slide into home plate in an 11-5 victory.
Ben Rice, who was standing in the on-deck circle that night, quickly turned away and grimaced. Multiple trainers, along with manager Aaron Boone, sprinted from the dugout. An ambulance was requested shortly thereafter.
Cabrera — who asked Aaron Judge, “Hey, did I score?” before being put in the ambulance — spent the night at the hospital. Judge, Boone and Anthony Volpe visited, as did others.
“That was one of the most beautiful things that happened that night,” said Cabrera, who scored on a two-run single by Trent Grisham in the second inning of the Yankees’ 3-0 victory Friday night. “That night, to be honest, was horrible, obviously, for what happened. But at the same time, with the fans, with the coaches, with the personal trainers that we have, with the teammates that I have, and, obviously, family and everybody . . . They did a really nice job of showing the love, showing me the support I needed in that moment.”
Cabrera, who underwent surgery three days later, also heard from a spectrum of well-wishers inside and outside the organization.
“Too many,” the native of Venezuela joked.
Cabrera, who turned 27 last Sunday, stopped smiling for a moment and added: “You can’t imagine [how many], especially from Venezuela. A lot of players, a lot of coaches, a lot of people I never met in my life . . . Man, that’s why the next day [after the injury] on Instagram, I said I feel ‘blessed’ for having so many people supporting me.”
Cabrera has been one of the most popular players in the Yankees’ clubhouse from the time he made his big-league debut on Aug. 17, 2022, because he greets virtually every person with whom he comes in contact with a beaming smile and genial disposition.
Cabrera, who had a .243/.322/.308 slash line, one homer, four doubles and 11 RBIs in 34 games before the injury and who has appeared in games at every position except pitcher and catcher in his career, wore a walking boot for weeks after the surgery. He and the scooter that helped him move him around were a constant presence in the Yankees’ clubhouse the rest of the season.
The injury was never considered career-threatening, but there are no sure things in recovering from the effects of that kind of break, which required a plate and seven screws to be put in the ankle. There also was ligament damage.
Still, by the end of last season, Cabrera was cleared to take ground balls. The offseason and spring training went off without a hitch. Before being cleared to play in games, the final “box” Cabrera had to check was sliding feet-first at full speed, more or less replicating the kind of play he got hurt on.
“For me, it was just trying to lose my fear because, obviously, it’s a fear from the last time and trying to not put anything in mind to make me feel like I’m afraid to do that,” he said.
Said Boone: “He’s worked really hard to come back from what was a tough injury, so I’m happy for him.”
Boone said he didn’t notice a dramatically happier Cabrera in the last 24 hours because “he’s like that all the time.”
At the onset of camp, it was assumed Cabrera would start the season on the injured list but, in his mind, Opening Day on March 25 in San Francisco definitely is a possibility.
“Absolutely it is,” Cabrera said. “I didn’t talk about this with anybody in the organization, the coaching staff or manager, but I’m working to make the Opening Day roster.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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