José Caballero DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Tampa Bay Rays are giving a handful of their regular starters a rest in Sunday's series finale against the division-rival New York Yankees in the Bronx, as third baseman Junior Caminero, utility man Jose Caballero, outfielder Christopher Morel and catcher Danny Jansen are out of the starting lineup. Curtis Mead is starting at third base and batting sixth, Taylor Walls is at shortstop and hitting ninth, Travis Jankowski is in left field and batting seventh, and Ben Rortvedt is doing the catching and hitting eighth against Yankees right-hander Will Warren. Caminero gets the day of rest after starting in each of the team's last 25 games. The 21-year-old prospect has gone just 1-for-16 in his last four starts and is hitting .240 on the season, so it's a good time for him to get a little breather. None of Tampa's replacements on Sunday are particularly intriguing from a DFS standpoint against Warren.

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Jose Caballero (foot) is returning to the starting lineup on Saturday afternoon when the Rays face the New York Mets. The 28-year-old fouled a ball of his foot on Thursday but received negative results on his X-rays. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status but seeing him return to the lineup quickly suggests this injury was not serious. Last season, the 28-year-old logged a career-high 139 contests with the Tampa Bay Rays. He held a .227/.283/.347 with 24 doubles and nine home runs. Caballero flashed elite speed as he swiped 44 bags, which were the most in the American League. However, with the Rays bringing Ha-Seong Kim (shoulder) in the offseason, Caballero may see a decrease in playing time and will only carry value in deeper AL-only formats.

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said that infielder Jose Caballero (foot), who suffered a bruised left foot in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Detroit Tigers, was "moving around much better" during a workout in camp on Friday and could return to a spring training contest on Saturday. Caballero fouled a ball off his left foot on Thursday and was removed as a precaution, and it sounds like he'll be just fine after X-rays came back negative. The Panamanian infielder led the league with 44 stolen bases and 16 times caught stealing in 2024 in his first year with Tampa, but his fantasy value is on the decline this year, mainly because he's likely ticketed for a utility infield role for the Rays now that prospect Junior Caminero will be an everyday player in 2025. Still, Caballero can be a late-round target for his speed in AL-only leagues.