5 Yankees who are playing their way out of the team’s 2024 plans

Oswaldo Cabrera, OF/IF

What a difference a year makes, huh? Last summer, Oswaldo Cabrera was the high-energy savior that most fans hope Everson Pereira will be down the stretch this season.

Now? Cabrera's an afterthought, and it's nearly impossible to believe this time last year, some of us genuinely thought the lifelong infielder could be the Yankees' powerhouse left field solution.

Given a chance to win the job (again, at a position he did not play) this spring, Cabrera had a powerhouse March, hitting .333 with a 1.001 OPS and four bombs. Somehow, though, the man who made Yankee Stadium look small last summer was blinded by the bright lights when the campaign began. Instead of a smooth operator in left, he began to look more like ... well, a second baseman playing the outfield (thank goodness IKF was around to also be that). At the plate? His OPS crept into the .500s, and still sits at .574 today, even after a moderate surge in recent days (.320 AVG/.400 SLG in his past 25 scattered at-bats).

Cabrera has been demoted on a few different occasions this season, only to find himself back in the bigs again shortly thereafter due to a frustrating injury. He's had a slightly longer leash than Oswald Peraza, but he's been used in much the same way. If he ends up on the 2024 roster at all, he's likely to be the first offensive player dismissed when the team is in need of a shakeup. Again.