TAMPA — After the 2022 season, Osvaldo Cabrera was the most optimistic player in the Yankees clubhouse.However, he was not immune due to a disappointing second season in 2023.
“I’m just trying to get my confidence back,” Cabrera said Monday after practice at the Yankees Player Development Complex. “Obviously we’re always making adjustments, but at the same time, the biggest thing I’ve done [this season] has been getting stronger mentally. … Watching Osvaldo Cabrera play aggressively makes me feel like I lost that game a little bit last year. So this year, I’m going to take it all with me.”When Isiah Keener-Falefa signed with the Blue Jays, the Yankees could use that because Cabrera was a prime candidate to fill the utility role left in the offseason.
But beyond his defensive versatility, Cabrera will need to rediscover his groove at the plate after a disastrous 2023. Cabrera enters 2023 after bursting onto the scene with a .247 OPS and a .740 OPS over the final two months of the 2022 season. That surpassed Yankees first baseman Aaron Hicks (left window). However, he failed to capitalize, hitting just .211 with a .574 OPS in 115 games.The Yankees sent him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for three innings to get him out of his offensive funk, but all three stints were short as injuries elsewhere necessitated a quick return to the majors. He never played a game in Triple-A before being called up and finished the year with just 10 games played in SWB.Cabrera acknowledged Monday that his upbeat nature backfired when he struggled last season.
“I think that was my problem last year. “I’m very optimistic, so in my mind I’m thinking, ‘I’m good, I’m good, I’m good,'” he said. “I’ve never been asked, ‘What do I do?’ I wasn’t even asked, I always thought, “I’ve got this, I’ve got this, I’ve got this.”But Cabrera eventually realized something needed to change. In his third trip to Triple-A, he spoke with hitting coach Trevor Amicone and a mental skills coach, which got him thinking about his hitting past and how he might come back.
That led him to spend the offseason focused on rebuilding his confidence. He teamed up with his older brother Leobaldo in his native Venezuela to make 25 appearances, which he said was “the biggest thing of my career”. He also worked with new hitting coach James Rawson to establish his hitting stance earlier than before to allow for a better swing.“I only talk to people who saw me play in the minor leagues. We need input from a variety of people,” Cabrera said. “My brother said something to me and I said, ‘Yeah, I forgot.’ [Catcher Carlos] Narvaez said something to me and I was like, ‘Yeah, I did it in my head.’ I don’t think I did. that last year. So I’m looking forward to this year.”Cabrera, a switch hitter, used his Venezuelan winter ball experience to get all of his at-bats while hitting left-handed, even against left-handed pitchers.He started batting left-handed after feeling better on the left side late last season, but said Monday that he won’t be giving up right-handed batting entirely.
“I think I have the ability to hit to the right side,” said Cabrera, who has hit both sides of the plate in batting practice the past two days. “I wanted more left-handed hitting so I would be better prepared for when I had to go left-handed.”
Leave a Reply