The New York Yankees designated Oswaldo Cabrera for assignment on Wednesday to make room for Clarke Schmidt on the 40-man roster.
Schmidt was on the 60-day injured list and underwent Tommy John surgery last year. He looked good on his rehab assignment, and the Yankees had to make room for him. Cabrera, who suffered a devastating ankle injury last season, ended up being the player to lose his spot.
Cabrera has served in a utility role for the Yankees, but had spent most of this season in the minor leagues. He has played in just three big league games this year, but had a .288/.345/.444 slash line with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. However, he was not a real contender to contribute to the team in October.
Schmidt, on the other hand, could be very valuable. He had a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts last year before his injury. The Yankees are bringing him back as a reliever, and he will have the rest of the regular season to prove to Aaron Boone he deserves a spot on the postseason roster.
In five minor league rehab games, he worked seven innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out 11 batters. Two of the earned runs he gave up came in his very first game back in Double-A. He allowed just four hits and one earned run in his next six innings of work. The Yankees have him stretched out to go multiple innings, so he could be used as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen.
