Anthony Volpe is back in the Yankees‘ starting lineup on Tuesday night in Minnesota.
The shortstop, penciled in the No. 8 spot in the lineup, returns to take his first at-bats since Sept. 9 due to a cortisone shot he received for a partially torn labrum.
“[Volpe’s] ready to go,” Boone told reporters on Tuesday. “And also, [Jose] Caballero is not a guy that plays every single day and I want to be mindful of that. He’s a little beat up too. Want to get Anthony back into the mix here and hopefully he give us some spark today.”
Volpe is slashing .206/.268/.393 this season with 19 homers and 70 RBI in 142 games this season. The 24-year-old has been the center of a lot of controversy due to underperformance both at the plate and in the field. The third-year player has been dealing with a partially torn labrum since May, however, the Bombers didn’t use it as an excuse for the poor performance.
“Not much,” the manager said when asked how much of a factor Volpe’s lingering shoulder injury has been. “I feel like he’s been in a good spot physically. I think everybody deals with certain things, so it’s impossible to say this affected something this much or didn’t at all. How can you possibly know that?
Jose Caballero has performed well since being traded to the Yanks from the Rays as the utility man owns an .848 OPS during 32 games in pinstripes, but had some blunders in Monday’s loss to the Twins — he was picked off at second base in the fifth inning and wasn’t sharp on a few plays at short stop.
The Yankees’ shortstop competition will clearly be the most watched situation during the final two weeks of the regular season.
JUDGE IN RIGHT FIELD
The Yankees captain is back in the field for the sixth time since returning from the injured list on Aug. 5 from an elbow flexor strain.
With Aaron Judge in right, Giancarlo Stanton slots in at DH.
Judge’s throws in right field will be closely monitored the rest of the regular season.
