The ripple effects of the Yankees’ franchise-altering trade for Juan Soto continue to come to light.
In addition to putting up MVP-caliber numbers in his first season in pinstripes, Soto served as a mentor to 25-year-old Oswaldo Cabrera, whose importance has skyrocketed in the ALDS as a fill-in first baseman for the injured Anthony Rizzo.
“Soto, for me, is much more than a teammate,” Cabrera said on a Zoom call Sunday between Games 1 and 2 of the postseason series against the Kansas City Royals.
“He’s like a hitting coach, too. He doesn’t know that. He doesn’t know how much he helped me in my mind, mentally, and obviously with my mechanics, because every time Soto is in the cage or he is hitting on the field, I am just watching to try to get something I can use.”
Watching Soto, a left-handed hitter with power to all fields, taught the switch-hitting Cabrera the importance of being able to hit to the opposite field and to maintain a low-line-drive approach.
Cabrera posted career highs with eight home runs and 36 RBI in 299 at-bats this season, while his .247 average represented a 36-point improvement from last year in a similar number of plate appearances.
“I’m not gonna do the things that he can do,” Cabrera said of Soto, “but everything that I can take to put on my mechanics and put on my mind, I am open to learn.”
Acquired from the San Diego Padres in a seven-player trade last December, the 25-year-old Soto hit .288 with a career-best 41 home runs and 109 RBI in the regular season, primarily out of the two-hole. Already a seven-year MLB veteran, Soto is expected to command a historic contract when he hits free agency after the playoffs.
Aaron Judge, the Yankees’ No. 3 hitter, has spoken about the value of batting behind Soto, whose 129 walks and .419 on-base percentage ranked second among MLB hitters, trailing only Judge.
Soto went 3-for-5 in the Yankees’ 6-5 win in Game 1 of the ALDS, while Cabrera went 1-for-4 with a double.
Normally the Yankees’ utilityman, Cabrera started Game 1 at first base after Rizzo suffered two fractured fingers on a hit-by-pitch a week earlier, forcing him off of the ALDS roster.
It’s an opportunity Cabrera is not taking lightly.
“I’ve been working to be ready in any situation, so now they gave me the opportunity to play first for the Rizzo situation,” Cabrera said. “I’m used to trying to do my best to help the team. That’s the key all the time.”
Saturday marked Cabrera’s 18th career appearance and sixth start at first, a position where he’s never made an error. The role remains relatively new to Cabrera, as evidenced by him still using the injured DJ LeMahieu’s glove while playing there.
Since making his MLB debut in 2022, Cabrera has appeared at every position other than catcher, and he’s started at all of them besides center field.
“To watch him work behind the scenes, [he’s] always making sure he’s prepared at different positions, so if I throw him in different situations, like he’s done that and ready for it, eager,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday.
“When he first came up,” Boone recalled of Cabrera, “I remember somebody asking, ‘What’s your favorite position?’ ‘Whatever one I’m playing that day.’ He lives that, and he works incredibly hard.”
Cabrera has spent extra time working at first base since Rizzo went down, as have rookie Ben Rice and third baseman Jon Berti, both of whom remain in the mix to help fill the veteran’s void.
Rizzo hopes to return by the ALCS, should the Yankees advance that far. Whether he’s able to not, Cabrera intends to contribute.
“Right now, I can be on first, but in any moment I can go play second, shortstop, third, left field, right field, whatever,” Cabrera said. “I just want to be ready.”