Cabrera was slotted as fourth outfielder at the beginning of the 2007 season. He struggled, batting only .200 in April and .254 in May with limited playing time. He was batting .223 on the season when Jason Giambi went on the disabled list on June 1, 2007, giving him more playing time as Damon assumed Giambi's role of designated hitter and Cabrera took over center field from Damon. After this, he hit .320 with 3 of his 5 home runs and 21 of his 36 RBIs. He also had a 13-game hitting streak from July 1 to 17. While Bobby Abreu was struggling that month, Cabrera hit second to enable Derek Jeter to hit third and cemented himself as the Yankees' starting center fielder, causing Giambi to compete with Damon for DH at-bats after returning from the DL. Cabrera had a career-high hitting streak of 19 games, while continued to get his share of walks. Prior to the July 31 trade deadline, the Texas Rangers offered Yankee GM Brian Cashman their closer, Éric Gagné, in exchange for Cabrera, but Cashman declined and Cabrera went on to tie for third in outfield assists (16) for the season. In 150 games to finish 2007, Cabrera batted .273 with 8 home runs and 73 RBI.