NEW YORK – Some players claim there is no added motivation when they play against a former club, taking the field against people who decided their roster looked better without them.
José Caballero doesn’t understand how that can be.
The Yankees’ infielder/outfielder continued to torment his old employers on Monday, slugging two homers in a 5-1 victory over the Rays, punctuating the blasts with a pair of impressive bat flips that had his teammates howling.
“By the time he got to the dugout, the next at-bat was already like one or two pitches in,” said Ben Rice, who also hit his team-leading 25th homer in the win. “It’s so much fun to watch, the passion that he brings to each and every game. It’s just a pleasure to watch, and we really enjoy it.”
Caballero has two multi-homer games in his career, and both have come against Tampa Bay over the past calendar year – also Aug. 19, 2025, at George M. Steinbrenner Field – which seems too tidy to be dismissed as a coincidence.
“It’s always special to play here, to play my old teammates,” Caballero said. “It’s always special to play here with the fans. I know a couple of them, and the environment, I’m used to it. I like it here. It always gets me going, for sure.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he believes Caballero “probably does get a little more up for these games.”
“He likes the action; I’ll say it that way,” Boone said. “He just likes being in the middle of it.”
The 29-year-old Caballero spent 1 1/2 seasons with the Rays, who dealt him to the Yankees mid-game last July in the Bronx. Caballero packed his belongings and switched clubhouses just ahead of the Trade Deadline, instantly feeling at home in his new surroundings.
“Cabby's a really good player, a winning player,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “He can do a lot of things. We always said while he was here in a Rays uniform: He can beat you many ways. Tonight, he beat us with the bat, but we know he's very talented on both sides of the ball, and certainly when he gets on base.”
Boone said Caballero believes he is “the best player on the field every night,” a powerful assertion Caballero doesn’t dispute.
“I always think the best of myself,” Caballero said. “I know I can do whatever it takes to help the team win. Every player should think the same way. That’s why we are in the big leagues, because we are the best.”
Caballero grounded out in his first at-bat of the evening against Griffin Jax, who cruised through the lineup early, retiring the first 13 batters he faced. Jax lost the strike zone in the fifth inning, walking two men ahead of Caballero, who slugged a changeup over the left-center-field wall for a three-run blast.
“I’m trying to spark the team somehow, some way,” Caballero said. “We’re struggling right now, going through some bad stretches. It’s something that can get the team going a little bit and get them excited; it’s always good.”
If it takes antagonizing an opponent by manipulating the pitch clock to the letter of the law, Caballero is up for that, too.
“He gets under the pitcher’s skin,” Cam Schlittler said. “He’s really good at that. I’ve had conversations with him about that. I know I’d be frustrated if I was out there. When he’s locked in and not too overemotional, he does things like that tonight. I’m glad he has an extra chip on his shoulder playing against the Rays.”
Caballero struck again in the eighth off Chris Roycroft, belting a sinker over the left-center-field wall for a solo shot. It was Caballero’s 10th homer of the season, a career high, and sealed a four-RBI performance that equaled his career best.
“He definitely can put on a show in BP,” Boone said. “You put him in the Home Run Derby, and I guarantee he’d more than hold his own.”
Not only did Caballero toss his bat one-handed, he also continued to show off a bow-and-arrow celebration as he rounded third base, which Boone called “a full-on skit we’ve got going when he hits one.”
“It just comes out naturally; I don’t really know,” Caballero said. “That’s my signature right now.”
That, and cracking homers against the Rays.