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Yankees' Jose Caballero: Focused on bat speed over winter
Rotowire
Caballero did some training at Driveline Baseball this offseason, where he focused on increasing his bat speed, Chris Kirschner and Brendan Kuty of The Athletic report.
Caballero's goal is to get his average bat speed up to 71 mph this season, which is a bit below the league average of 71.7 mph but would be a notable jump from his 69.1 mph average in 2025. The super utility player went deep in Grapefruit League action Sunday against the Mets and believes reaching double digits in home runs in 2026 is a reasonable goal, per Kuty. That would be a career high for Caballero, who popped nine homers in 2024 and five in 2025. The 29-year-old is slated to open the upcoming season as the Yankees' everyday shortstop while Anthony Volpe (shoulder) recovers.
Caballero agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with the Yankees to avoid arbitration Thursday, Jack Curry of YES Network reports.
Caballero was dealt to the Yankees at the trade deadline, and he enjoyed a strong second half of the season. Across 95 regular-season plate appearances for New York, he managed to hit .266/.372/.456 with 15 stolen bases and three home runs. Caballero projects to be in a bench role when the Yankees' lineup is healthy, though he's likely to get regular at-bats to begin the year with Anthony Volpe (shoulder) sidelined.
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