Former Guardians villain’s career at crossroads after latest Yankees DFA

The signature moment of Oswaldo Cabrera’s career came on Progressive Field’s diamond in 2022. 

With the Yankees and Guardians tied in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the American League Division Series, Cabrera stepped up to the plate with the game tied at two and launched a ball 409 feet into the night sky. 

After letting loose his violent swing, Cabrera stopped and stared at the blast before shooting a sly smile to his bench as he began his home run trot. 

In the nearly 24 seconds it took for him to walk around the bases, it would have been easy for Yankees fans to envision him in the middle of their lineup as a bopper protecting Aaron Judge. 

That never ended up happening. 

On Wednesday the Yankees announced they’d DFA’d Cabrera to make room on their roster for Clarke Schmidt’s return from the injured list, bringing about an end to a disappointing and injury-filled time with the Bronx Bombers. 

The Yankees cut bait with Oswaldo Cabrera earlier this week

Even though Cabrera finished his Yankees tenure with a .635 OPS in 837 at-bats, he still had plenty of signature moments against the Guardians. 

A year later, he recorded a go-ahead single in the ninth inning in New York’s April series at Progressive Field. And in 2024, he stifled a potential Cleveland rally with an unassisted double play in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. 

Cabrera played in 100+ games in 2023 and ‘24 while moving all around the diamond, but he never seemed to find the same kind of success that he had during his rookie season in 2022 (he was their version of Daniel Schneemann). 

His career took a turn in May 2025 when he suffered a serious ankle injury on a play at the plate that resulted in him undergoing season-ending surgery. 

He returned to big league action this spring and managed to get into three big league games this season, where he went 0-for-9 with four strikeouts. 

That said, he had solid numbers in the minors (.790 OPS in 122 games at Triple-A), so it seems like there’s still some pop in his bat. 

Cabrera’s entering the waiver process at an interesting point in the season since we’re past the Sept. 1 deadline that allows for a player to play in the postseason. 

That may not prevent him from finding a new team (the Diamondbacks just claimed Jesús Sánchez on waivers), but it will limit the amount of impact he’s going to make the rest of the way. 

Cabrera may not have turned into the kind of hitter that his showing against the Guardians would lead you to believe, but he has enough skill that he should be able to find a new home somewhere. 

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