NEW YORK (AP) — José Caballero was activated by the New York Yankees and returned to shortstop for Friday's series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays after spending the minimum 10 days on the injured list because of a broken right middle finger.
Cabellero was batting seventh for the Yankees, who lost the final two games of a series against Toronto after winning the first two.
Caballero was hurt diving back to first base on a pickoff attempt by Milwaukee’s Abner Uribe during the ninth inning of a game at Milwaukee on May 10, even though he was wearing a sliding mitt. Acquired from Tampa Bay last July 31, the 29-year-old Caballero started 39 games at shortstop and is hitting .249 with four homers, 13 RBIs and 13 stolen bases with a .720 OPS.
Anthony Volpe, the starting shortstop from 2021-23, hit .217 with three RBIs, two stolen bases and seven walks for a .707 OPS in Caballero's absence and remained on the big league roster. Volpe had been optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following his recovery from shoulder surgery Oct. 14.
New York opened a roster spot by optioning top prospect Spencer Jones to Scranton. Jones debuted on May 8 and hit .167 with no extra-base hits and two RBIs in 27 plate appearances over 10 games. He was brought up after Jasson Domínguez sprained his left shoulder when he crashed into Yankee Stadium’s outfield wall on May 7.
Trent Grisham was back in the lineup leading off and playing center field after missing one game. He left Wednesday's game because of knee pain and tests showed no structural damage.
New York also activated ace right-hander Gerrit Cole from the 15-day IL following his recovery from elbow ligament replacement surgery. He was to start Friday in his first big league appearance that counted since the 2024 World Series.
Right-hander Yovanny Cruz was optioned to the RailRiders on Thursday night after making his first two big league appearances.
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