SEATTLE — Oswaldo Cabrera is the exact kind of guy every winning team needs over the course of a 162-game season.
There is the player, with his defensive versatility that is uber valuable, his willingness to play everywhere and anywhere and do it well, and his determination to improve, like he did at switch-hitting this past offseason.
And then even more importantly, there is the person. Surely, Cabrera has had a bad day or two since he arrived in the big leagues in 2022. You would just never know it if you’re around the Yankees. He is always walking through the clubhouse with a smile on his face, uplifting his teammates with positive words of encouragement, letting his joy for the game and life rub off on them.
Over the course of a long season, that matters. It is what made Cabrera’s gruesome injury in the ninth inning Monday night at T-Mobile Park — confirmed Tuesday as a fractured left ankle — even more devastating for the teammates who were all shaken up for him.
