Aaron Boone Plans to Stick With Oswaldo Cabrera at Shortstop in Game 5 of ALDS

CLEVELAND — Yankees manager Aaron Boone made a significant change to his starting lineup prior to Game 4 of the American League Division Series on Sunday.

After a win to force a decisive Game 5, it sounds like Boone is sticking with it.

Boone revealed that he will "probably" start Oswaldo Cabrera at shortstop again with their season on the line in Game 5. The skipper chose to move Cabrera in from left field on Sunday, benching Isiah Kiner-Falefa after the shortstop's defensive woes descended to new lows on Saturday in Game 3.

"Good. Handled everything well. A couple of tricky plays," Boone said, evaluating Cabrera's performance at shortstop. "Felt like he had handled it well, and I thought he did."

Cabrera ascended through New York's farm system as a middle infielder, but after he was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the 23-year-old started working almost exclusively as an outfielder in pinstripes. Sunday was just the fifth time he had played shortstop with the Yankees. Helping out in the corner outfield spots with certain players missing due to injury, Cabrera blossomed defensively, routinely dropping jaws and making highlight reels with outfield assists and improbable catches.

Kiner-Falefa, meanwhile, has struggled on the defensive side of the ball on and off this season. In Game 3, a walk-off loss against the Guardians, the shortstop's defense translated to multiple runs for Cleveland. Boone explained before the game on Sunday that Kiner-Falefa has been pressing, a big reason why he wanted to make a change.

Oswaldo Cabrera is the 1st player to start a postseason game at shortstop with his team facing elimination after having fewer than 30 career MLB innings (RS & PS combined) at the position

h/t @EliasSports
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 16, 2022

With Cabrera expected to start at shortstop again in Game 5, Boone has another decision to make when it comes to one of the corner outfield spots. Aaron Hicks started in left field on Sunday in Cleveland, but heading back to Yankee Stadium, there's at least a slight chance New York could use Giancarlo Stanton or Matt Carpenter in the outfield, a way to get both of those sluggers into the starting lineup.

That seems unlikely, though. With Harrison Bader in center field and Aaron Judge in right, either Stanton or Carpenter would need to play left in the Bronx on Monday. The only times either of those two banged-up boppers played defense in left was when New York was in Houston or Boston, ballparks where there's less ground to cover.

Follow Max Goodman on Twitter (@MaxTGoodman), be sure to bookmark Inside The Pinstripes and check back daily for news, analysis and more.