Faith, JUCO pay off for Rays’ Jose Caballero

HOUSTON – Jose Caballero has had multiple injuries throughout his baseball career. Over the course of his career, the Tampa Bay Rays’ utilityman has broken his tibia and fibula in his left leg. He also fractured both ring fingers.

As if that weren’t enough, he tore his ACL in his right knee and fractured a hamate bone in his left hand. Caballero also fractured the ring finger on his right hand a second time. Fortunately for Caballero, he has a close relationship with his faith.

While he was absent off the field, he would talk to God. The Rays‘ infielder would try to understand the purpose of his injury and look to an alternative option to regain his strength.

“I think God has a plan for everyone,” Caballero said. “If God decided that was my path, I just took it, and tried to take the best out of it. I just took advantage of all those times that I went down and I worked on my strength or the little things. Maybe off the field, but I’ll still try to get a bat and get something out of it.

“That’s the path that God wants me to go through. From the first surgery that I had, I was just thinking about if I make it to the big leagues this is gonna be my story. It’s going to be something I share with my friends, and my family, something that I went through. And I overcome those tough situations.”

Junior college route pays

Jose Caballero grew up playing multiple sports in a small town in Panama. The native of Las Tablas, the capital of the Panamanian province of Los Santos, played baseball, soccer, volleyball and basketball. Though, he participated mainly in soccer and baseball.

Caballero eventually picked baseball over soccer because he never liked when a soccer game ended in a tie. He either wanted to win or lose.

The 5-foot-9 slugger traveled to Mexico to play in an under-18 tournament. Lauren Flores, a hitting coach for Panama, went to school with the head coach at Chipola junior college, Jeff Johnson. Flores recommended Caballero to Johnson. In addition, Flores encouraged Caballero to attend Chipola and play college baseball.

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Caballero wanted to sign as an international free agent out of Panama. However, his chances were decreasing due to a surgery.

“I was running out of time,” he said. “He (Flores) just kept telling me about this college system. I tried it. It was my last chance, so I said, ‘I’m gonna try it.’”

New beginnings at Chipola

Caballero enrolled in Chipola and started a new chapter in Marianna, Fla. The transition was difficult because he didn’t speak any English. He had to adapt to American culture. He started English classes to communicate with his professors, coaches and teammates.

Caballero, 27, had a .401 batting average with 81 hits, 15 home runs, 63 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases in 58 games as a sophomore. He helped the Indians win a national junior college championship in 2017 and was named the tournament MVP in Grand Junction, Colo.

Caballero fondly recalls all the work he put in helping win the 2017 JUCO national championship.

“The first year we came up short,” he said. “The second year we came out looking for revenge. … We went to conference, state, nationals. And the same mentality that we had the first day (we had) ’til the last day, until we made that last out. 

“It was just fantastic. That experience I’ll never forget, for sure. That’s the thing that’s gonna stick in my mind for many years.”

🚨 José Caballero steals home! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/sqj2quTVDr

— MLB (@MLB) July 31, 2024

The Diamondbacks drafted Caballero in the seventh round of the 2017 MLB Draft. Two years later, he was traded to the Mariners. On April 15, 2023, Caballero made his major league debut with the M’s.

After a disappointing 2023 season, the Mariners traded Caballero to the Rays for outfielder Luke Raley. The Rays didn’t have a starting shortstop for the 2024 season. Infielder Taylor Walls, Caballero, and the Rays’ No. 1 prospect Junior Caminero were competing for the position.

Jose Caballero ‘better than advertised’

The Panamanian infielder has played 13 games at second, and 22 games at third. Nonetheless, Caballero has spent the majority of his time at shortstop playing 68 games.

“He’s been better than advertised,” Rays bench coach Rodney Linares said of Caballero. “He’s a really good player, a good defensive player. But I’ve been more impressed with the way he handles himself. Playing all over the infield, just a very special talent.”

Caballero currently leads the American League with 29 stolen bases, ranking fourth in Major League Baseball. Moreover, he joins former four-time All-Star Carl Crawford as the only Rays player to lead the AL in stolen bases at the All-Star break.

“Just taking advantage of the playing time and … trying to help my team win,” he said. “Like I said in the beginning, that’s my mentality, keep playing at 100 percent in every single game.”