New York Yankees face off against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 6 held a special significance for Jose Caballero as he faced off against his former team. Even though the shortstop proved himself with his first multi-homer performance, Aaron Boone is still not sold on handing him the starting role.

The Yankees manager gave an interview to the New York Post Sports after New York's 5-1 win over Tampa, and said that Caballero is still not the one. 

“It's just day-by-day,” Boone said. “In fairness, he's been in there a lot more days where I've scratched, and something's come up to where I've had to move.”

The Yankees activated Caballero after his minimum 10-day stay on the injured list, and he started at shortstop in the May 23rd opener against the AL-leading Rays. Boone said Caballero has been listed at shortstop in the initial lineup more often than he has actually played there because of injuries and illness.

Yet the manager praised the player’s strength

“But his versatility is so valuable too, especially with what we're going through as a team right now with some guys down,” Boone said. “He's a gamer and a big-time player for us.”

In 2026, in 253 at-bats, he has 63 hits and 103 total bases. 

Back in the 2017 MLB Amateur draft, Caballero was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 7th round (202. overall) out of Chipola College in Marianna, Florida.

However, he debuted with the Seattle Mariners in 2023 and later played for the Tampa Bay Rays. He joined the Yankees after being traded by the Rays during a game on May 19, 2025.

A year later, Caballero proved himself as a Yankee, taking revenge against his former team. 

Jose Caballero powered Yankees with two-home run performance

Caballero hit two home runs and drove in four runs to power the Yankees to a 5-1 victory over Tampa Bay. He accounted for New York's first four runs before Ben Rice added a solo homer in the ninth for insurance. 

The Yankees had not recorded a hit until Caballero came up with two runners on in the fifth and blasted a three-run homer that gave the offense a much-needed boost. 

The Rays scored once against an otherwise impressive Cam Schlittler, but Caballero restored the Yankees' three-run lead with a solo home run to left field in the eighth inning.

That marked his first multi-home run game since August last season, which also came against his former team, the Rays.

In an interview with columnist Steve Serby of The Post, Caballero said what fuels him to perform better.

“Doubts,” he said. 

Caballero led the way for the Yankees, improving his season’s stats to .249/.304/.407 with 16 RBIs in 77 games.

What do you think about Boone’s decision on Caballero? Let us know in the comments. 

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Written by

Soheli Tarafdar

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar