As soon as adversaries, José Caballero had no thought how Gerrit Cole would reply when the 2 met for the primary time as Yankees teammates.
Cole, nevertheless, had a joke locked and loaded for the utilityman.
Cole’s quip referred to a June 2023 incident at Yankee Stadium throughout which the pitcher fired an 0-2 fastball excessive above Caballero’s dome. Cole went on to fan Caballero, who performed for the Mariners on the time, earlier than infamously wagging his finger at Seattle’s dugout.
Cole delivered the two-part message as a result of Caballero had gotten on his nerves, stepping out and in of the batter’s field in an effort to mess with the ace’s timing.
Gerrit Cole was pissed off by Jose Caballero’s antics between pitches. Cole responded by throwing his quickest pitch of the evening, throwing one other one over his head after which jawing at him after putting him out pic.twitter.com/9lFaMmhSTo
The confrontation may have made for an ungainly second when Caballero, acquired from the Rays on July 31 throughout a sport between the 2 groups, linked with Cole within the Yankees’ clubhouse. As an alternative, the injured Cole felt “glad” to have the nuisance aboard, and the 2 chatted and laughed about their earlier run-in.
Caballero, who has been beginning at shortstop instead of the aching and struggling Anthony Volpe, had comparable conversations with Aaron Boone and Aaron Decide, as Cole is much from the one Yankee he incensed earlier than becoming a member of forces with the membership.
“He needles the opponent a little bit, but he and I have had a good laugh,” mentioned Boone, who watched Caballero annoy Luis Gil right into a run-scoring balk final yr. “Now he’s turned into one of my favorite players.”
An irritant all through his three large league seasons, Caballero will step out of the field, dance on the bases, and do absolutely anything he can to disrupt pitchers. Pair these antics along with his blazing velocity – Caballero awoke with a significant league-leading 46 stolen bases on Monday – and also you get baseball’s model of a chaos agent.
“I’m trying to make them hate me,” mentioned the pesky pinstriper, who has performed the sport like a pest since childhood. “I don’t want them to like me.”
Balk by Luis Gil plates Caballeros#Rays 1 #Yankees 1 🔼third pic.twitter.com/mfOAYsKAlR
A Yankees fan rising up in Panama, Caballero impressed aggressive disdain with ease when he performed in opposition to the Bombers, however the nudge has had no issues becoming in for the reason that commerce, which despatched Everson Pereira to Tampa Bay.
With the Yankees touring to Miami instantly after buying and selling for Caballero, he shortly bonded along with his new teammates over in-flight video games of poker.
The Yankees captain seen extra than simply Caballero’s losses, although.
“The coolest thing was he wasn’t shy,” the captain mentioned. “He wasn’t keeping to himself. He hopped right in on the card table and just kind of immersed himself in the team, which speaks to the type of person he is. He’s comfortable where he’s at. He’s a funny guy that likes to have fun.”
Decide additionally mentioned that he advised Caballero that he “hated” taking part in in opposition to him, “but we’re going to love having you here.”
“You even heard that from a lot of the Rays’ players,” Decide continued. “They have been like, ‘I can see where you guys might get mad at some of the stuff he does, or why he gets under your skin, but when he’s in your workforce and he’s preventing for you, you’re going to see how particular he’s and what he means to your ballclub.’
“I think everyone’s embraced that and really, truly sees what he brings to this team.”
To be clear, Caballero brings extra than simply distractions.
An Energizer Bunny and fierce competitor between the traces – Caballero has already been ejected twice as a Yankee – Cole known as him a “spark plug.” Caballero’s versatility, in the meantime, made him an attractive goal, as he has performed six totally different positions this season.
With Volpe scuffling on the plate and within the subject – and recovering from a cortisone shot in his left shoulder – Caballero spent the previous week beginning at shortstop. His stable metrics on the place – he had 4 Outs Above Common previous to Sunday – and better-than-expected offensive manufacturing have made a compelling case that he ought to completely supplant Volpe, who has acquired a number of undeserved votes of confidence from Boone and Brian Cashman.
On Sunday in Boston, Boone mentioned that he would “do what’s best every day” at shortstop with Volpe now an accessible participant a number of days faraway from his shot.
That remark got here earlier than Caballero made a spinning, run-saving play up the center within the eighth inning and crushed a solo shot 423 toes over The Inexperienced Monster’s Nationwide Automotive Rental signal within the seventh. The blast put an exclamation mark on a stretch of seven straight begins that noticed Caballero hit .273 with two doubles, the homer and 4 stolen bases.
It additionally bought the Yankees speaking in regards to the 5-10, 190-pound Caballero’s sudden energy.
“I didn’t [know about that] until I saw him take BP the first couple days with us,” Boone mentioned of a participant with a .314 common and a .955 OPS over his final 16 begins. “I was like, ‘Wow.’ He goes where the big boys go in BP. So when he steps on one like that, now it’s not so surprising.”
“His power, at least watching him hit in training and batting practice, I was surprised by,” Cole added. “He’ll lose ’em up by the Poland Spring sign [at Yankee Stadium]. That’s 450 feet. That’s 65-grade, 70-grade power in the major leagues.”
José Caballero despatched this ball out of Fenway Park 😮 pic.twitter.com/cn0f2SxNNg
In fact, Caballero’s biggest asset is his quickness.
He’s mentioned that he’s not attempting to win the stolen base title, however he and Jazz Chisholm Jr., as soon as a teammate within the Diamondbacks’ system, have helped the Yankees lead the majors in swipes for greater than a month.
There have additionally been a number of cases wherein Caballero’s wheels have put immense stress on defenses. An instance got here in Friday’s win over the Crimson Sox, as he hit a ground-rule double, stole third and raced house to attain on a fielder’s selection, which led to a throwing error.
“He wreaks havoc on the bases,” Boone mentioned. “He’s a little daring and makes you hold your breath sometimes, but he’s got a real good feel. He’s a really confident player.”
Boone has additionally described Caballero as a “catalyst,” “heady,” “a gamer,” “a winning player” and, maybe most notably, a “10th man.” The supervisor has repeated that there’s worth in bringing Caballero in as a sub, whilst followers beg for Volpe to stay on the bench.
Maybe the Bronx devoted will get its want now, as Caballero has finished all he can to drive the Yankees’ hand.
“I’m just trying to help the team win,” he mentioned when requested what he thinks he’s proven during the last week. “On the finish of the day, it doesn’t matter what I do. It’s what the workforce does.
“As long as we keep winning games, I’m going to be really happy.”
