Hot potato at hot corner
CLEVELAND — DJ LeMahieu is nearing a rehab assignment, but one of his fill-ins joined him on the injured list Saturday.
All the while, Oswaldo Cabrera continues to make a winning impact whenever he gets in the lineup, which now figures to be just about every day until LeMahieu returns with Jon Berti on the shelf.
Before the Yankees placed Berti on the 10-day IL with a left groin strain, Cabrera crushed a two-run home run that proved to be the difference in a 3-2 win over the Guardians in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field.
Then the third baseman added an RBI double in the nightcap on the way to an 8-2 win, capping off another strong day for Cabrera, who was playing for the first time since last Sunday after sitting against a trio of left-handers in the series against the Marlins.
“Talk about somebody that comes to the field every day and gives everything he has — the definition is Oswaldo Cabrera,” catcher Jose Trevino said. “Watching him grow, watching him come up, watching him play the game, how he handles himself, how he handles his teammates, it’s top of the charts for me.”
Cabrera has reached base safely in 10 of his 11 games this season, with eight of his 13 hits driving in a run. Coming off a brutal 2023 at the plate, Cabrera is batting .317 with a .963 OPS and 11 RBIs (trailing only Juan Soto for the team lead) through 11 games.
“Feel happy about it, feel proud,” Cabrera said. “Me and all the hitting coaches, I know they feel the same way. But like I always say, we have to stay present all the time and keep working on the things we’ve been doing and try to get better all the time.”
The 25-year-old Cabrera has the Yankees in a good spot as they await the return of LeMahieu, which appears to be on the horizon.
The veteran third baseman, who has been out since the middle of March with a non-displaced fracture in his right foot, took ground balls and did more running in between games here Saturday.
“He seems close, to me, to being able to get into some rehab games,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Hopefully that’s coming soon. … I know he’s starting to [champ] at the bit a little bit to be ready to go in some games. It’s been encouraging his last couple weeks.”
Boone was unsure how many rehab games LeMahieu might need before being ready to join the Yankees.
Berti, meanwhile, suffered the groin injury legging out an infield single in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s loss to the Marlins. He was replaced on the roster ahead of Game 2 by Kevin Smith, who was called up from Triple-A.
“I don’t think it’s overly severe, but I don’t have a timeline for you,” Boone said.