One MLB infielder at least did not have to go very far upon receiving the news that he had been traded Thursday.
Tampa Bay Rays infielder Jose Caballero got traded to the New York Yankees ahead of Thursday’s MLB trade deadline. Caballero went to the Yankees in exchange for outfielder Everson Pereira and a player-to-be-named-later.
Bizarrely enough, the trade was agreed upon while the Yankees and the Rays were in the middle of a game at Yankee Stadium in New York, N.Y. It was the top of the seventh inning when Caballero said his goodbyes to his Tampa Bay teammates in the dugout and then … walked across the field to join his new team, the Yankees.
Jose Caballero hugs his teammates before heading over to his new team across the field pic.twitter.com/DCE7l9uMKQ
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 31, 2025
The whole sequence probably would not have occurred at all if not for a rain delay that set Thursday’s game back significantly. The game was halted in the bottom of the fifth inning due to the weather and did not resume again for roughly two-and-a-half hours. That likely gave Rays and Yankees personnel enough time to negotiate the deal.
But it all ended up working out quite nicely for Caballero. He went from losing Thursday’s game to winning it (the Yankees prevailed by a final score of 7-4). Caballero is also in New York already, so it should be pretty easy for him to get accustomed to his new home.
In terms of background, Caballero is a 28-year-old righty hitter who will be able to provide the Yankees with a whole boatload of speed. He led the AL with 44 stolen bases last season and is currently leading all of MLB with 34 stolen bases this season. Caballero was also hitting .226 with two home runs and 27 RBIs through 85 games for the Rays in 2025.
Overall though, this year certainly marked the trade deadline of the bizarre. Caballero’s odd mid-game defection came just two days after another MLB player was traded in the middle of a doubleheader and immediately went on to face his former team.
