“Did I score?” That’s all he could think about. Not the fact that his left ankle had just awkwardly twisted, or that he was taken off the field in an ambulance down to Harborview Medical Center, about a mile away from the ballpark. The New York Yankees had winning odds in their favor on Monday, but the 11-5 win against the Seattle Mariners wasn’t celebratory.
In the ninth inning, with the Yankees ahead 10-5, Oswaldo Cabrera was attempting to score on a sacrifice fly by Aaron Judge. He was making his way towards the plate, and just when he tried to slide, his left ankle twisted in the process. But only after Cabrera touched home plate and scored the run would he hit the ground with pain written all over his face. Trainer Tim Lentych first responded to the scene, embraced Cabrera while he lay on the ground atop home plate, before the medical team loaded Cabrera onto a stretcher and drove him off the field. Although his injury sent a lengthy hush, it wasn’t going to be a lonely stretch for Cabrera. The T-Mobile Park crowd knew better, and they cheered with bells and whistles on as the 26-year-old was carted off.
But before he was placed in the ambulance, Cabrera summoned his captain.
Cabrera asked him if he’d scored, and Judge told him yes. “So that made him smile,” Manager Aaron Boone said. “But he was in some pain, obviously.” After the game,
Judge, in his interview with YES Network, revealed how that conversation went. “He really wasn’t saying much down there. Then right before he got carted off, he called me over and just said, ‘Did I score?’” the Yankees captain said. He added, “Kind of shows you what type of guy he is, you know. Something like that happens, and the only thing on his mind through all of it, all the pain, everything, is just, you know, ‘did I score?’
Far more than the win, “This [injury] is bigger,” he added. “What Cabrera meant to this team, what he means to me. A guy who shows up early and does his work. He cares for everybody in this room. He loves being a Yankee. He wears this jersey with pride. This is a tough one, especially a guy who’s (worked) his whole life and finally got an opportunity to be our everyday guy and has been excelling at it. You see something like this and it’s tough.”
It was shocking that the Venezuela native couldn’t care less about the pain; all that mattered to him was if he did well in the game. “Everybody in here feels terrible because you know how much he {Cabrera} works, how hard he works, and how much he loves and cares for everybody in this room.” Judge revealed that nobody in the clubhouse enjoyed the victory after Cabrera’s injury. In fact, it deeply disturbed everybody, including manager Aaron Boone.
So, who replaces Cabrera defensively at third base? Oswald Peraza moved from second base to third, and Jorbit Vivas entered at second base. Another move that is imminent by Tuesday is that of veteran infielder DJ LeMahieu, who is due to be activated from the injured list.
Yankees won the game, but at what cost?
Oswaldo Cabrera could miss significant time. “He was in pain. That’s what he kept saying a lot,” Boone said about “the best people you’re going to come across.”It was a tough day for the Yankees, and Boone just concluded by saying, “Just praying for our guy Cabby tonight.”
Moving forward, things are going to get tough for the Yankees. Cabrera’s injury was visibly intense, and he will be taking time to return back on the field. Pained by his injury, Trent Grisham also shared why Cabrera’s injury hurt so much.“He’s one of the best human beings in the clubhouse,” outfielder Grisham said. “It stings. It hurts a lot to see somebody that’s one of the best of us go down like that.”
It has come to light that infielder DJ LeMahieu could finally make a comeback after spending a significant amount of time on the injury list. So, if he returns, there is a possibility that either LeMahieu, Peraza or Reyes will be taking over third base. Or, you never know, the Yankees could explore other options as well.