The Yankees are dealing with their fair share of injuries these days, but most of them are cases that they have known about for a while and are currently rehabbing or working their way back. There were no new concerns… until Monday.
Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reported that infielder José Caballero, who had been solid as a fill-in for injured shortstop Anthony Volpe, hurt the middle finger on his right hand while sliding back to base on Sunday.
Per the insider, Caballero has received treatment,
but feels enough discomfort to warrant an MRI, which is definitely not what the team wanted to hear. There is a chance the finger is not fractured, and the infielder himself believes that’s not the case, but we know better than trusting players on their own physical ailments.
After the conclusion of Monday’s game, Caballero is expected to return to New York to see a hand specialist as well as Dr. Christopher Ahmad, the Yankees’ physician, to get a look at the injury. Bombers’ manager Aaron Boone told Phillips that “there’s definitely some concern” over Caballero’s finger.
Caballero had a rough start to his season, but has improved considerably in recent weeks. He is slashing a solid .259/.320/.400 with four home runs, 18 runs scored, 13 RBI, 13 stolen bases, and a 104 wRC+. He’s already at 1.1 fWAR, fourth on the team among position players behind Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Ben Rice.
Caballero had been so good that the Yankees recently optioned starting shortstop Anthony Volpe to the minor leagues after his own rehab stint was up. If the former needs a trip to the injured list, the latter will almost certainly be back on the major league roster.
Max Schuemann is playing shortstop for the Yankees on Monday’s opener against the Baltimore Orioles in Caballero’s absence.
