José Caballero

BIOGRAPHY

Jose Caballero was born August 30, 1996, in Panama City, Panama. He is an infielder in the MLB.

The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Caballero in the seventh round, with the 202nd overall selection, of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft. 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. 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.

On July 31, 2019, Caballero was traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Mike Leake. 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.

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. 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. 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. On April 19, 2023, he recorded his first hit, a stand-up double off Eric Lauer of the Milwaukee Brewers. Caballero began seeing more playing time at second base as veteran Kolten Wong struggled. 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.

Caballero was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays following the 2023 season.