Yankees third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera was taken off the field in an ambulance after he injured his left ankle in the ninth inning of New York’s 11-5 victory over Seattle on Monday night.
Cabrera was hurt on an awkward slide when he reached back for the plate and scored the Yankees’ final run on Aaron Judge’s sacrifice fly. Cabrera, a 26-year-old native of Venezuela, writhed on the ground and stayed down for several minutes while being attended to by medical staff. Cabrera was then taken to a local hospital with team athletic trainer Tim Lentych
“I think everyone understands it was a pretty serious situation,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “So, just praying for our guy tonight and hoping for the best. Trust that he’s in good hands as he goes through the night here.”
Judge paid tribute to Cabrera’s attitude after the injury.
“Right before he got carted off, he just called me over and said, ‘Hey, did I score?’” Judge said. “So, just kind of shows you what type of guy he is. Something like that happens and the one thing on his mind for all the pain and everything is, ‘Did I score?’”
Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham wiped away a tear as he spoke about Cabrera.
“Oswaldo’s the best of us,” Grisham told the YES Network. “He shows up every day with the right attitude, plays the game hard, he’s the best person off the field. We just love him.”
Cabrera is in his fourth MLB season and has become a regular in the Yankees’ lineup. He is hitting .243 this season with one home run and 12 RBIs.
“He cares for everybody in this room. He loves being a Yankee,” Judge said. “He wears his jersey with pride. This is a tough one, especially a guy that’s grinded his whole life and finally got an opportunity to be our everyday guy and been excelling at it.”
