Anthony Volpe didn’t have anything to compare it to.
The Yankees shortstop had never experienced a sensation like the one he felt in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, when his diving attempt to stop an eighth-inning single left him grabbing his left shoulder.
“I felt, like, a pop in my shoulder,” Volpe said afterward. “It happened quick and it was scary, but after that it felt OK and I felt like I had my strength. They tested me and I felt good.”
Volpe went through a battery of on-field strength tests before staying in the game, then underwent an X-ray at Yankee Stadium that he said came back clean.
The 24-year-old planned to re-evaluate his shoulder on Sunday and said he did not know whether he would require an MRI.
“I felt something sharp and something right on the spot, but then after that it felt OK,” Volpe said. “It was just like taking a step back and realizing that it was OK. They did the testing and I felt strong, but it felt good after testing.”
The scary sequence occurred when Christopher Morel pulled a grounder through the hole on the left side of the infield. Volpe ranged to his right and dove, then remained down before he consulted with the training staff.
His shoulder did not need to be popped back into place, Volpe said.
“Once he got up and was moving around, he felt fine,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Then we wanted to make sure, strength-wise, he was in a good position, and felt like he was.”
Volpe committed an error later in the inning when he booted a one-out ground ball off the bat of José Caballero while attempting to turn an unassisted double play. The go-ahead run scored from third base on that play. Volpe said the error was the result of him rushing.
Now in his third MLB season, Volpe played in 159 games in 2023 and 160 games last year. He has not missed a game this season.
Any absence for Volpe would deal another blow to a Yankees infield that is expected to be without second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. for the next four to six weeks due to a high-grade oblique strain.
DJ LeMahieu is yet to appear in an MLB game this season after suffering a calf strain during spring training.
Volpe is hopeful to have dodged a serious injury.
“Knock on wood, but I’ve never really been in this situation, so it’s just scary,” Volpe said. “But it feels good, and all the movements and everything feel good.”
