Yankees fans begging for Oswaldo Cabrera to replace McMahon are in for rude awakening

The New York Yankees have raced out ahead of the AL East pack to begin the 2026 season, but it's a borderline miracle that they've been able to succeed with an empty 6-through-9 in the lineup and a bullpen with 1.5 trustworthy arms. Unfortunately, as the lineup scuffles, they're going to take the brunt of the heat given their preponderance of zeroes. It's not fair. But it's the world we live in. The Yankees could be 11-0, but if the 11 wins were painful and squeaky, their RISP numbers would still be examined with scorn.

Currently, the Anger Spotlight has focused most brightly on Ryan McMahon, the Yankees' $16 million (plus tax!) DJ LeMahieu replacement who's somehow been just as bad, if not worse, than his predecessor. The hope, at the time of the trade, was that his offense would be a tick below-average, but that he'd find the porch 15-20 times per season while playing elite defense. Naturally, his power has gone down to zero as his contact has receded, and he's now a combination third baseman/backup shortstop whose throws have been bouncier than expected to open the season. There's a reason he's viewed derisively, and his slow start has fans begging for a return of their favorite spark plug, Oswaldo Cabrera.

Now fully healthy, Cabrera should be a perfect candidate to cheaply hit ninth two or three times a week in an otherwise stacked lineup. Unfortunately, the Yankees' lineup isn't too stacked yet, and Cabrera — down at Triple-A — doesn't look like the solution to any of their current problems.

Oswaldo Cabrera's Triple-A start makes him an imperfect (being generous) Ryan McMahon solution for Yankees

Cabrera hasn't played a major-league inning since the horrific ankle injury that ended his season in mid-May last year. It's amazing that the Yankees utility man has recovered to the point of playing with no restrictions, but his Triple-A work remains rusty; in his first nine games, he's hitting .167 with a .531 OPS (and a single home run).

Yes. Yes, you wouldn't be wrong, necessarily, if you wanted to point out that Cabrera's numbers are approximately double McMahon's output. But an 8-3 team would need to have a very good reason to outright bench their starting third baseman 11 games into the season, and "poor Triple-A numbers from a guy we all like" isn't that reason. Maybe in a few weeks, things will change as temperatures heat up and offense is back in vogue. For now, the swap would be largely ceremonial.