José Caballero (baseball)

José Manuel Ortega Caballero (born August 30, 1996) is a Panamanian professional baseball infielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners.

Amateur career
Caballero attended Chipola College. In 2017, he led the school's baseball team to the JUCO World Series championship and was named the most valuable player of the tournament.

Arizona Diamondbacks
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.

Seattle Mariners
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.

Tampa Bay Rays
On January 5, 2024, the Mariners traded Caballero to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Luke Raley.

International career
Caballero was named to the Panamanian national team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In the tournament, he slashed .231/.333/.308 with three hits and one walk over 15 plate appearances.