BRIDGEWATER — Oswaldo Cabrera desperately longs to get back to having fun on the field with his Yankees teammates again.
He just knows he can’t get too antsy.
The 26-year-old utility player, who fractured his left ankle on May 12, was in good spirits Tuesday at TD Bank Ballpark as he got set to throw out the first pitch of the Somerset Patriots game and sign autographs for fans.
“I’m doing great,” Cabrera said. “We are killing the rehab right now, but we are in a path that we have to calm down a little bit because are we getting so (many) good things quick, but the cartilage is still a little bit weak.”
The key is to avoid putting too much pressure on his ankle, but Cabrera hopes to play for the Yankees again in September.
“We are working on that,” Cabrera said when asked if he holds out hope of playing again this year or is focused on next year. “Obviously it’s not a big window in that, but we are still working on that. We have to see, we have to just keep working to see what part we are in.”
Cabrera added that he will “soon” progress to on-field baseball activities in his rehab process.
The injury occurred while Cabrera was running toward home plate in Seattle. He had entered the season as the Yankees’ starting third baseman, and he was currently slashing .243/.322/.308 in 34 games.
“I see everything from God’s perspective. I feel like everything is divine intervention and everything happens for a reason,” Cabrera said. “For me, I have to take it, I have to work to get better, and if this happened, I don’t have a machine to go back in the past and try to change something. So everything that I have to do is looking forward, work in the future and what can I do today to get better.”
Another positive step was returning to the place where the Venezuela native’s minor league career took off.
Cabrera was named the Double-A Northeast Most Valuable Player in 2021 after compiling 24 home runs, 78 RBI, 21 stolen bases, a .256 batting average and an .803 OPS in 109 games.
Cabrera remembers that as a special year personally and as a team because all the players wanted to seize a championship in Somerset’s first year as a Yankees affiliate, even though they ultimately fell short.
“This is a beautiful moment for me,” Cabrera said. “It’s special because this is one of my best and beautiful years in minor (league baseball). To be back here with all my guys, all the fans here is something really emotional for me.”
The Yankees entered Tuesday five games back of Toronto for first place in the American League East, and they currently hold one of the three Wild Card spots.
Although the team is clearly in a fight right now just to make the playoffs, Cabrera believes the Yankees have the potential to get back to the World Series and finish the job this year.
“I think the most important thing is everybody is together in that locker room, so I think we have an amazing team,” Cabrera said. “We have amazing players, coaching staff, everything, so I think we’re gonna make a really nice (run) and get the job done. It didn’t happen last year, so I think this is the year to make it happen.”
Originally Published: August 19, 2025 at 7:21 PM EDT