The New York Yankees will be welcoming the New York Mets for the season’s inaugural Subway Series on Friday.
But as the team prepares for the return of Juan Soto to Yankee Stadium, it has also received the first update in what will be an arduous return for one of its own.
After suffering a gruesome ankle injury during a recent game against the Seattle Mariners, third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera had to be carted off the field and rushed to the hospital. He had surgery after being diagnosed with an ankle fracture and will likely have weeks if not months of rehab before taking the field again.
In his first message since that surgery, Cabrera revealed his immediate plans to continue his playing career.
“My return to the field begins today,” Cabrera wrote in an Instagram post, which was shared by Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “So, with the strength I’ve always had and all this beautiful energy that you all give to me, I tell you that I will return, and I will return even stronger to continue giving my best every day.”
Cabrera added that, immediately following his injury, he was flooded with negative thoughts and pain. But that he woke the next morning to thousands of messages from his family, friends and teammates, and that he was able to shift to more positive thinking.
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“And TODAY, after a successful surgery with an excellent medical team and God, with my parents, my fiancée and my agent, my heart full of love, I want to THANK YOU ALL,” Cabrera wrote. “This is something that my family and I will never forget!”
In the immediate aftermath of Cabrera’s injury, the Yankees brought back veteran DJ LeMahieu to the big-league roster. But the team is growing thin in the infield and Cabrera’s return can’t happen soon enough.
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