FanGraphs Weekly Mailbag: July 25, 2026

Controversy surrounding José Caballero’s pre-pitch style hit the Bronx twice this week, the first time causing the benches to clear and the second time causing unnecessary confusion. In the eighth inning of the Yankees’ 8-5 win over the Pirates on Monday night, Caballero did what he usually does—he stepped into the batter’s box and didn’t continue to look up at the ball until there were eight seconds left in the game. The idea is to disrupt the pot’s rhythm. Pittsburgh reliever Dennis Santana took exception to Caballero’s trick — which he has done several times over the past four seasons — and yelled at him after he forced a double play. The benches emptied, the Pirates complained to MLB about it.

Turns out, the catch worked. After the game, the league told umpires to strictly follow the rules that require batters to engage the pitcher with less than eight seconds left on the clock. Instead of warning the batter, and then calling an automatic strike for repeated infractions, the umpires were directed to check Caballero’s strike by trying to fool the striker, regardless of how much time was left on the timer. Both Caballero and the Yankees said the league did not notify them of the change. As chief of staff Adrian Johnson told a pool reporter afterward, “He’s been warned all season. We were told not to warn him. We were told to break him. That’s what it is. A violation.” Along with Johnson’s bad phrase, the sudden change in enforcement is surprising and, in my view, undeserved. If what the Yankees are saying is true – that the league didn’t tell them about the change – then I think this is an oversight by MLB to designate a player. Caballero accused the referees and the league of “jumping” him. But even if MLB gave the Yankees and Caballero the nod, I think the enhanced enforcement is a misrepresentation of the rule. I like that Caballero uses the clock to his advantage; hitters can catch the ball and run clockwise to zero, so why shouldn’t batters be allowed to wait their full allotted time before engaging the pitcher? Plus, I also don’t know how Caballero is fooling the pitcher by doing something he does all the time. Of course you’re trying to upset the opposing striker, but that’s not cheating – that’s good play.

Anyway, that’s the last thing you’ll read about Caballero in this week’s postbag. Instead, we’ll be answering your questions about Esmerlyn Valdez’s heater, Gunnar Henderson’s woes against fastballs, how to fix the Angels, and whether anyone will break Jesse Orosco’s hit streak record. But first, I’d like to remind you that this post bag is only available to FanGraphs members. If you are not yet a Member and would like to continue learning, you can sign up for Membership here. It’s the best way to experience the site and support our staff, and it comes with tons of other great benefits. Also, if you’d like to ask a question about a future mailbag, email me at mailbag@fangraphs.com.