Ghastly Yankees injury overshadows Mariners' series-opening loss

The New York Yankees rolled to an 11-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Monday, but all either team could do was watch in horror as Oswaldo Cabrera suffered a gruesome injury in the final frame.

With the Yankees leading 10-5 in the top of the ninth inning, Cabrera tagged up to score from third base on a fly ball to right field by Aaron Judge. The throw from Leody Taveras was up the line, forcing Cabrera to evade a tag attempt by Cal Raleigh. As he did so, he seemed to lose his balance and his left lag collapsed underneath him.

In that instant, it was clear that the 26-year-old Cabrera was very seriously injured. He was somehow able to crawl to home plate and tap it with his hand to score the run, but then he slammed his helmet with his right hand and writhed in pain with his face hidden behind his left arm. A while later, he was put on a stretcher and left the game in an ambulance.

The Yankees and Mariners will play 2 more games in the shadow of one of the most horrifying MLB injuries in recent memory

The Yankees and Mariners will be back at it again on Tuesday, with first pitch at T-Mobile Park set for 6:40 p.m. PT. A great pitching matchup is in store, as Yankees ace Max Fried will go face-to-face with Mariners ace Bryan Woo.

After what happened to Cabrera, though, the baseball side of this series feels beside the point. He is almost certainly out for the rest of the 2025 season, and it suffices to say the Yankees have lost more than just a quality player.

“I think everyone understands it was a pretty serious situation,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said last night, per Josh Kirshenbaum of MLB.com. “Just praying for our guy Cabby tonight and hoping for the best, and trusting he’s in good hands as he goes through the night here. Obviously, a great game in a lot of ways, but a lot of guys feeling for their teammate, who is the best of the best of them.”

This was one of those moments where the expressions and body language of the bystanders showed there to be only two feelings in the moment: shock and heartache.

Between players, coaches, and fans of both the Yankees and Mariners, there were a lot of stone-faced stares, hands on heads, and crossed arms. Almost the entire Mariners infield took a knee at one point, and it was only a matter of time before tears began to flow.

The Yankees don't have any choice but to move on and keep playing games. They have 121 still to go, beginning with two more in Seattle before they had back to New York for a critical series against the Mets at Yankee Stadium. Perhaps it'll be some consolation that a familiar face will rejoin the team on Tuesday, as the Yankees are set to activate veteran infielder DJ LeMahieu off the injured list.

For their part, the Mariners find themselves looking to snap a four-game losing streak and avoid a second straight series loss after winning nine in a row. They remain in first place in the American League West, but it feels tentative as they await their own reinforcements off the injured list.

Yet if the Yankees and Mariners are going to have anything in common tonight, tomorrow, and maybe even for the rest of the season, it will be heavy hearts. What happened to Cabrera can't be undone, nor can it be forgotten.