If you thought the Yankees’ decision to keep Anthony Volpe out of the lineup on Sunday and Monday signaled some sort of shift in how the organization views the 24-year-old, think again.
“I view Anthony as our shortstop,” Aaron Boone said before the Yankees began a three-game series with the Nationals on Monday.
Volpe didn’t start in Sunday’s series finale against the Red Sox, but he did enter in the late innings as a defensive sub. Boone said to expect a similar entry in Monday’s game with José Caballero starting at short for the second straight game.
Volpe, now in his third season, had never been held out of two straight starting lineups in his career. Boone called the benching a “reset,” and Volpe is expected to start on Tuesday.
Boone, at times an unbelievably fierce defender of Volpe’s, added that he plans on deploying the shortstop “regularly” moving forward despite his lacking contributions at the plate and in the field.
Volpe was hitting .208/.274/.400 with 18 home runs, 65 RBI, 15 stolen bases and an 86 wRC+ prior to Monday. His benching followed an 8-for-66 (.121) stretch that featured just one home run and 19 strikeouts in as many games. Prior to that, Volpe went 14-for-50 with seven homers over 14 games following the All-Star break.
While Volpe has already set a career-high for RBI and has a solid chance of exceeding his personal best of 21 dingers, he remains prone to extreme highs and lows. That’s been the case throughout his inconsistent career, a puzzling trend that neither he nor the Yankees have been able to correct.
“The game’s hard. I mean, we sat here and talked last night about [Trent Grisham’s breakout season]. Hitting at this level is really tough, and it doesn’t always go like this because a guy rockets through the system and comes with high expectations,” Boone said, motioning an upward trajectory with his hand. “Sometimes it does, but sometimes it takes longer than that.
“[Volpe has] shown all the signs that he can be a really good offensive player. Consistency is that next wave, and that’s what he’s working really hard to do. I’m confident he’ll get there.”
Truth be told, there’s no evidence to support Boone’s belief in Volpe, as his three-year sample paints a much clearer picture than any two-week sample has so far.
Volpe entered Monday’s game with a .222/.284/.380 slash line and an 85 wRC+ over 1,799 career plate appearances. Of the 89 players with 1,500 plate appearances since 2023, he ranked 89th in average and on-base percentage and 88th in wRC+ and OPS (.665).
There has been a lot of debate over what type of hitter Volpe should be, as he has seemingly changed his approach multiple times over his young career.
In 2023, he joined the 20-20 club as a rookie, but he also struck out 167 times. That resulted in a desire for more contact last season, but that plan of attack zapped Volpe of his power as he continued to struggle with strikeouts. Pop has returned to Volpe’s game this season, but whiffs remain, and he’s well below average when it comes to OPS and wRC+, just as he was in his first two seasons.
When asked what type of hitter Volpe should be – there are fans and pundits pushing for a slap-happy singles hitter – Boone replied, “A good one. Productive. I don’t care.”
“Production comes in a lot of different ways,” the manager continued. “I think sometimes people want him, because he’s a shortstop with speed, to hit for a certain average and do certain things. No, productive offensive players come in many shapes and forms. So he’s got a lot of ability. He’s shown a lot of flashes of that. I think the next thing for Anthony, though, is the consistency part and limiting some of the peaks and valleys.
“He’s made a lot of adjustments throughout his career so far. His first year profiled a lot different than his second year, where he made some adjustments. Maybe [it’s] some kind of hybrid between those two, which I think he is now, but the consistency part, that’s the next wave for him offensively so he can ascend as a player.”
Perhaps, but Volpe has shown no true signs that he can get there.
He’s also taken serious steps back on defense this year, as the Gold Glover’s -7 Outs Above Average ranked 21st out of 24 qualified shortstops entering Monday. Volpe also has 17 errors this season.
Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz is the only player in baseball with more, as he’s made 19 errors this season.
With Volpe a negative at the plate and in the field, the Yankees would be wise to give Caballero more starts at shortstop, as the utility man is hitting well in pinstripes so far and grades out favorably at the position (4 OAA).
On Sunday, Boone called Caballero a “spark” and a “winning, championship caliber player.” He also noted that the pesky speedster gives the Yankees a solid shortstop alternative off the bench, something they didn’t have earlier this season when Oswald Peraza served as the club’s backup.
“Cabbie gives you that real utility presence that can go play anywhere, and especially go play short,” Boone said. “We’re at the all-hands-on-deck portion of the season. We brought in Caballero, which changes the personnel we have and what we’re able to do.”
That comment had some wondering if the Yankees had changed their tune on Volpe, but Boone went back to playing the hits 24 hours later.
