José Caballero (baseball)

José Manuel Ortega Caballero (born August 30, 1996) is a Panamanian professional baseball infielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ortega and the second or maternal family name is Caballero.
José Caballero
Seattle Mariners – No. 76
Infielder
Born: (1996-08-30) August 30, 1996
Panama City, Panama
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 15, 2023, for the Seattle Mariners
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.221
Home runs4
Runs batted in26
Stolen bases26
Teams

Career

Amateur career

Caballero attended Chipola College. In 2017, he led the school's baseball team to the JUCO World Series championship and was named the most valuable player of the tournament.[1]

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Caballero in the seventh round, with the 202nd overall selection, of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.[2] He made his professional debut with the rookie-level Missoula Osprey.

In 2018, he split the year between the Low-A Hillsboro Hops and High-A Kane County Cougars, hitting a cumulative .292/.378/.468 with 9 home runs, 40 RBI, and 17 stolen bases across 70 total games.[3] For the 2019 season, he began the year playing for the High-A Visalia Rawhide, posting a .268/.388/.396 with 3 home runs, 12 RBI, and 28 stolen bases in 43 contests.

Seattle Mariners

On July 31, 2019, Caballero was traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Mike Leake.[4] Caballero played in 23 games for the High-A Modesto Nuts, slashing .256/.339/.333 with no home runs, 10 RBI, and 4 stolen bases. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

Caballero split the 2021 season between the rookie-level Arizona Complex League Mariners, High-A Everett AquaSox, and Double-A Arkansas Travelers. In 20 games, he hit .258/.385/.484 with 3 home runs, 15 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. In 2022, he played in 31 games for Double-A Arkansas, batting .227/.440/.330 with 2 home runs, 12 RBI, and 15 stolen bases.[6] He was assigned to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers to begin the 2023 season.

On April 15, 2023, Caballero was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[7] He made his MLB debut that night as a defensive substitution, replacing J. P. Crawford at shortstop in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies.[8] On April 19, 2023, he recorded his first hit, a stand-up double off Eric Lauer of the Milwaukee Brewers.[9] Caballero began seeing more playing time at second base as veteran Kolten Wong struggled.[10] On May 21, 2023, he hit his first major league home run off Nick Anderson of the Atlanta Braves, in the process becoming only the second Mariner after Mike Cameron to record a homer and three stolen bases in the same game.[11]

International career

Caballero played for Team Panama in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.[12]

References
  1. "MVP Caballero leads Chipola to JUCO title". MLB.com.
  2. "D-Backs select eight players on the second day of 2017 First-Year Player Draft". mlb.com. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  3. "Arizona Diamondbacks 2019 Top 50 Prospects". prospects1500.com. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  4. "Mariners' Jose Caballero: Shipped to Seattle". cbssports.com. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  5. "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  6. "Mariners Prospects who are making noise in the 2022 AFL". sodomojo.com. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  7. "Mariners Designate Tommy Milone, Select Jose Caballero". yardbarker.com. 15 April 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  8. https://twitter.com/stonelarry/status/1647454807341555715?s=46&t=UN5XGiNzRq3-vt33N7zCTw
  9. https://sports.yahoo.com/jose-caballeros-first-mlb-hit-211243746.html
  10. "Mariners going with Jose Caballero over Kolten Wong at second base for now". The Seattle Times. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  11. "Seattle Mariners' Jose Caballero Joins Team History on Sunday". FanNation. Sports Illustrated. 21 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  12. "2023 Panama World Baseball Classic Roster". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
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