Caballero makes the Rays feel it, again, with two more homers in Yankees win

In a theme that players often dismiss as psychological fiction, José Caballero showed he does not subscribe to the idea that facing an ex-club brings no extra charge. Caballero homered twice in the Yankees’ 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, delivering the kind of emphatic statement that makes “old teammate” games feel different at the plate.

The timing mattered because it was not a first-time oddity. Caballero has had two multi-homer games in his career, and both have come against Tampa Bay during the past calendar year, including Aug. 19, 2025 at George M. Steinbrenner Field, according to MLB’s account of the matchup.

Yankees teammates noticed the intensity even before the scoreboard could. MLB reported that Caballero’s bat flips drew loud reactions in the dugout, and that his approach carried the same quick tempo from pitch to pitch. Ben Rice, who also hit his team-leading 25th home run in the victory, described the feeling of watching Caballero with the kind of passion managers want but do not always get from the same player every day.

Rice’s comments, as reported, captured the Yankees’ internal perspective: by the time Caballero reached the dugout, the next at-bat already felt like it was imminent, and the urgency made the game more fun to watch. It was not only production, but a visible rhythm that seemed to match the way Caballero played when he arrived to his new surroundings after the trade.

Caballero’s past with the Rays is central to why this pattern resonates. The infielder/outfielder spent 1 1/2 seasons with Tampa Bay and was traded mid-game last July to the Yankees in the Bronx. In MLB’s recap, Caballero said he always feels something extra playing against his former teammates and is comfortable with the environment in New York, including knowing a couple of fans and feeling that he gets “going” when the setting turns familiar.

Even Tampa Bay’s own perspective, as referenced in the same report, underscores what the Yankees saw when they acquired him: the Rays viewed Caballero as a player who can do “a lot of things,” and those skills have continued to show up in moments that carry emotional weight. After the latest Yankees-Rays game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone also suggested Caballero likely gets “a little more up” for matchups like these, framing it as a preference for being in the middle of the action.

For the Rays, the challenge is that the matchup is becoming a storyline of its own. When a former player keeps turning reunions into repeat performances, scouting reports and bullpen planning have to do more than manage typical tendencies. The Rays still have a full-season schedule to sort out, but Caballero’s pattern means the dugout will likely watch the batter box with an extra layer of attention any time the Yankees put him in the heart of their lineup.