Myles Straw's second home run (4)
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Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
José Caballero is a new kind of Yankee
When the Yankees acquired José Caballero on deadline day last month, it was something of a surprise. For one thing, the Yankees had already added three position players in Ryan McMahon, Amed Rosario, and Austin Slater. For another, Caballero came from a division rival that was just a game below .500 and, ostensibly, still in the playoff race. With Anthony Volpe firmly entrenched at shortstop, it was unclear what the versatile 28-year-old's role would be. Through the first three weeks of his Yankees career, that role has become clear: sparkplug. It's a role GM Brian Cashman has been seeking to fill for quite some time. He traded for utilitymen Tim Locastro midseason in 2021 and Jon Berti just before Opening Day last year. Both of those players had a few things in common — defensive versatility, elite sprint speed, and a slap-happy offensive profile. They also both had their tenures in pinstripes derailed by injuries, never fulfilling the Swiss Army knife potential for which they were acquired. Caballero is Locastro and Berti 2.0. After leading the American League in steals last year with 44, he's tops again so far, already having swiped 39 bags. Five of those have come during his short tenure in New York, where he's immediately impacted the team through his aggressive approach to the game. He leads all players in MLB in stolen base attempt percentage, attempting swipes in 8.2 percent of his opportunities. While that kind of eagerness leads to some outs on the bases, it also puts the other team on their back foot from the jump. Case in point came in the seventh inning of Saturday's game in St. Louis, in which the speedster hopped, deked, and dashed his way to swipes of both second and third, the latter coming on a wild pitch that appeared to exemplify the degree to which Caballero was in the opposing pitcher's head. View Link It's a conscious piece of strategy that comes naturally to Caballero. 'I don't want them to have the full attention on what they're doing and rather a little more attention on me to try to hate me,' he told Randy Miller of of his peskiness. The former Ray's shiftiness on the basepaths extends beyond stolen bases. Earlier in the same game, he went first to third with one out in a crucial spot as the Yankees were attempting to key a comeback despite having to hold up to ensure the ball made it out of the infield, helping set the stage for an eventual 12-8 Yankees victory. View Link And, with injuries to Aaron Judge and Austin Slater, as well as Giancarlo Stanton's spurious defensive profile, Caballero's defensive versatility has come into play early. Despite appearing only in the infield last year, Caballero played every position except for first base and catcher for Tampa Bay this season (his six-run, one inning outing on the mound cost him 0.2 bWAR, which just seems mean). The man who made his bones as an infielder has already made six appearances in right with the Yankees and — one disastrous miscue in Miami aside — has performed admirably. View Link Despite hitting being the weakest part of his game, Caballero has already demonstrated some of the positives of a 'swing first, ask questions later' approach. He slapped a first-pitch slider at the top of the zone the other way for a key RBI single that staked the Yankees to a 3-0 lead Sunday. View Link The man is capable of further surprises, too. Caballero entered the season with just 13 career home runs in 243 games, and that rate only went down in the first half, as he had only two all year long at the time he joined the Yankees. Unsurprisingly held homerless in his first 10 games in pinstripes, Caballero erupted out of nowhere last night against his old teammates in Tampa (tribute videos only mean so much). He launched two long balls as part of the Yanks' team record-tying nine. View Link The overall package is a player who takes the field with a skill set and mentality that stand out on the current Yankees squad. His new manager summed it up well. 'Yeah, I couldn't stand him playing against him and now he's turning into one of my favorite players,' said Aaron Boone about his new designated pot-stirrer. The Yankees didn't need José Caballero, not as such. He didn't fill an obvious area of need positionally like Ryan McMahon or fortify a part of the roster in which depth was being tested, like the three relievers the team acquired. But, for teams with championship aspirations, depth and flexibility late in games are not luxuries — they're necessities. In a stretch in which Yankees brass has frequently been criticized for its lack of urgency, the decision to pull the trigger on Caballero is quietly the most notable sign that Cashman is committed to doing more than what is 'good enough,' pulling out all the stops to augment his roster around its fringes for the stretch run.
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Titans cornerback L'Jarius Sneed passes physical and is removed from PUP list
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee cornerback L'Jarius Sneed passed his physical, and the Tennessee Titans removed him from the physically unable to perform list Wednesday in time to start practicing. The two-time Super Bowl champion was part of the Titans' big offseason spending spree in March 2024, with Tennessee trading for the cornerback. Sneed played in just five games and wound up on injured reserve with a quadriceps injury. Sneed said during an offseason camp that he was as healthy as he's been. But the Titans put him on the physically unable to perform list to start training camp, with team officials saying Sneed had a cleanup of a knee in May. The Titans open the season Sept. 7 at Denver. Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson said Sneed will be day to day in his return, with the five-year veteran being eased back into practice. 'It's good to get him back out there, and he's been chomping at the bit," Wilson said before practice. "He's been doing everything in his power in the training room to get to this point,' Wilson said. 'So I'm just excited for the young man, not just the football player but him because I know the work that he's put in.' Sneed has 10 career interceptions, though he's still looking for his first with Tennessee. The Titans are counting on Sneed to start in a secondary featuring second-year cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and Roger McCreary. Titans starting center Lloyd Cushenberry III passed his physical and returned from the physically unable to perform list on Aug. 11. ___ AP NFL:
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Titans L'Jarius Sneed activated from PUP
In a move that I doubted would ever happen, Tennessee Titans CB L'Jarius Sneed has passed his physical and been activated from the PUP list. Sneed is supposed to participate in practice in a limited capacity going forward. There is no shot he will play in the preseason finale, but this move gives him a shot to be ready to play week one against the Denver Broncos. The Titans desperately need him back on the field because they are extremely thin at the corner position. Sneed, whom the Titans acquired for a third round pick before the 2024 season, played in just five games last season. He initially went on the IR with a quad injury, but it was revealed right before training camp that he had a procedure on his knee this offseason. That was the reason he started training camp on the PUP list. When healthy, Sneed has been one of the best corners in the league. That's why the Titans gave him a 4-year deal with $51.5 million in guaranteed money after the trade. Hopefully, he can regain that form this year.
