The New York Yankees have called the Miami Marlins to check in on right-hander Edward Cabrera, per a report from The Athletic.
Cabrera is 27 and under team control through 2028. He had a breakout season as a starter in 2025, posting a 2.8 bWAR and a 3.53 ERA in a career-high 26 starts. Cabrera also allowed less than a hit per inning and struck out 150 hitters in 137.2 innings. And, of course, general manager Brian Cashman will probably get him for pennies on the dollar since the Marlins are sweating have to pay him less than $4 million in arbitration.
So how does Cabrera fit into a Yankees’ rotation with spots mostly spoken for? He throws five pitches with his changeup, curveball, and sinker shouldering most of the load. A slider and fastball feature intermittently, which poses an even bigger question: What do the Yankees want with a guy whose fastball posted a -12 run value in 2025?
Cabrera’s breaking and offspeed run values, by comparison, were respectively +10 and +5.
Two reasons: Whiffs and ground balls. Cabrera’s 29.4% whiff rate was in MLB’s 78th percentile and his groundball rate, a respectable 47.5%, was in the 74th. Even his fastball’s velocity, sometimes touching 97, is in the 87th percentile. Pitching coach Matt Blake must see a fix in the fastball.
Next question, where does Cabrera fit into the rotation? As we mentioned, despite injuries to Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon, the Yankees’ rotation is mostly covered. Max Fried is probably the Opening Day starter, followed by some mix of Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Luis Gil and, potentially Cabrera. We can see how this could complicate things, especially once Clarke Schmidt returns from Tommy John surgery after the All-Star Break.
Except maybe this isn’t as complicated as it seems. We saw last season how much Gil regressed one year after being named AL Rookie of the Year. He’s a two-pitch pitcher who, despite upside as a starter, needs to be a permanent bullpen arm. Especially with the Yankees’ relief corps needing support for Camilo Doval, Fernando Cruz, and David Bednar. Gil’s fastball-slider mix is ideal for inducing whiffs so long as his fastball velocity is up. Its average dropped over a full mile per hour last year to 95.3.
Granted, Edward Cabrera is similarly flawed. Whereas Gil leans too heavily on his fastball, Cabrera can’t seem to get his right despite natural velocity. Opposing hitters hit .259 against his fastball and .373 against his sinker.
However, maybe Blake and manager Aaron Boone see something in Cabrera that can make him even better. Changeups and curveballs in particular are a lot of stress on the arm, so having a standard fastball helps Cabrera in more ways than one. Better health plus effectiveness, so long as he doesn’t overdo it with his velocity.
Nothing is official yet, but the Yankees clearly have plans this offseason. Aside from interest in Edward Cabrera, the Bronx Bombers still hope to re-sign Cody Bellinger. They’ve also checked on Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta, who is entering his contract year.
There’s still a lot of offseason left, but spring training is getting closer. New York had better get something done, and soon.
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