00:00All right, word down at Yankee spring training is that the whole Ryan McMahon
00:03at shortstop experiment hasn't gone according to plan just yet.
00:08A couple of errors this week, had some people wondering what the Yankees
00:12are going to do with shortstop depth until Anthony Volpe returns
00:15from the shoulder injury.
00:18So let's see what Ryan Garcia of Empire Sports Media thinks about the whole
00:22shortstop situation.
00:24Ryan, appreciate you hopping on with this, man.
00:26Love talking Yankees baseball with you.
00:28Let's get it straight to it because we're talking about the backup here
00:31because Jose Caballero is the starter until Volpe returns.
00:35But how much faith do you and the fan base have in Jose to start the season
00:42at shortstop?
00:43Is it an upgrade or a downgrade from Volpe who had a down year last season?
00:49Well, I think the fan base is a little higher on Caballero because he had a great
00:53first impression here.
00:55He hit 266, had an OPS of 828.
00:58He was an upgrade over Volpe in the second half.
01:01And there's kind of that honeymoon phase when a new guy comes to town and brings some energy.
01:05I do think Caballero is more of a league average starting shortstop, which isn't a bad thing.
01:11It's better than what the Yankees got last year.
01:13Volpe was 25th in wins above replacement at the shortstop position among 26 qualified shortstops.
01:20So do I think Caballero can be better than that?
01:22Absolutely.
01:22He's a great base runner.
01:24There's a good feel for drawing walks, but I don't think he's a superstar.
01:29More of like a scrappy player, bottom of the order kind of guy.
01:33So in comes Ryan McMahon, who they're trying out to see if he could be a valuable backup.
01:40And so far, the reports are that he struggled.
01:43And I'm going to jump to this man's defense right now.
01:46You know, I'm not a baseball guy or baseball player.
01:49I'm a football guy, but he is a natural third baseman.
01:52He's even won some gold gloves at the corner.
01:54But do you think that Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman, these guys should continue to see what they have in a
02:02McMahon?
02:03Or do you like how short is the leash in terms of looking somewhere else?
02:08Well, I think communication with the player is important.
02:11If the player is uncomfortable and does not want to continue the experiment, you got to stop it right there.
02:15But if the player is confident in their ability to try it out and not have it affect their play
02:20at third base during spring training, sure.
02:23Give it a couple other starts, but I don't think they should lean on McMahon to be the backup shortstop.
02:27As you mentioned, he is a premium defender at third.
02:29I do think they could carry Oswaldo Cabrera, who has some shortstop experience, or Max Schumann, who's also on the
02:3640-man roster with some shortstop experience.
02:39The need for a backup shortstop is only going to be brief because Jose Cabrera will move into that role
02:44when Anthony Volpe comes back.
02:45But, again, this is based on what the player is feeling.
02:48Are they comfortable?
02:50And, again, when the regular season comes around, just being able to have somebody who can at least man the
02:56position if something catastrophic were to happen to Cabrera as the starter.
03:00I know you say Cabrera would kind of move once Volpe gets back, but how confident are you in Volpe
03:06when he returns?
03:07Like, let's say Cabrera is playing well.
03:11He's got the hot hand.
03:12Do you ride with him, or do you just automatically give Volpe his job back day one?
03:18I think it's a great question if Cabrera ends up playing well.
03:21Man, what do you do?
03:22So, I'll start with my confidence level in Volpe.
03:24I'm not particularly confident that he's going to be more than a glove-first shortstop.
03:30I don't think that he's going to live up to the high prospect billing he once had.
03:33But I don't think it's impossible for him to be the player he was in 2024, where, you know, he
03:39graded out as one of the best defensive shortstops in the American League, had plus 14 outs above average, plus
03:44six defensive runs saved, and stole a good amount of bases, too.
03:48He had 28 steals.
03:49If you can get that kind of player at the bottom of your order, it's not a super attractive player
03:55to have on your roster, but it's a productive and important piece to have at a position where defense matters
03:59a lot.
04:00For Cabrera, I do think if he starts out well, he'll still get reps at shortstop because Volpe's coming back
04:05from labrum surgery.
04:07I'm sure the Yankees are going to want to give Volpe some off days.
04:10Cabrera could get some starts at second against a tough lefty because Jazz is a left-handed hitter.
04:14He might get some tough starts at third base against a tough lefty.
04:17If Rosario's a little banged up or if he's out of the lineup, there is reps to be had for
04:22Cabrera because he's so versatile.
04:24So, I think if he plays well, there'll still be opportunities.
04:27You mentioned Oswaldo Cabrera making the final roster of the Final 40.
04:33He's going to make his first appearance of spring training, returning to action for the first time since he broke
04:38that ankle back in May.
04:40What's your expectations on Cabby this season?
04:43You've mentioned some, but how much could he add or how much value could he add to this team?
04:49I think there's a good amount of value Oswaldo Cabrera could add if he's healthy and if he's playing well.
04:54A big thing with Oswaldo Cabrera to know is that we don't know how he's going to look after the
04:59ankle fracture.
05:00I mean, it was a gruesome injury and his mobility at shortstop could be severely affected, but if not, then
05:05he's a capable option there.
05:07He can hold his own.
05:08He's a good defensive third baseman at the very least.
05:10And one thing that he brings that both Cabrera and Volpe can't bring is offense against right-handed pitching.
05:16There are some years where Cabrera has been an above average hitter against righties, most notably 2024.
05:21He had 268 average, 320 on base, 409 slugging percentage, was 8% better than the league average hitter against
05:28right-handed pitching.
05:29I think if Cabrera can play that kind of role where against a really tough righty, you can slot him
05:34in that shortstop.
05:35He's going to be pretty valuable to this team.
05:37But again, it all depends on how he looks after that injury.
05:39And I wouldn't blame him if he gets off to a slow start or needs to start in AAA because,
05:44again, that was a really tough thing to watch.
05:48All right, we're getting one step closer, one day closer to opening day.
05:52Man, I like talking.
05:53Always a good time talking Yankees baseball with you, Ryan, man.
05:57Appreciate you hopping on with me.
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