After playing through a partially torn labrum for most of the 2025 season, Anthony Volpe underwent surgery on his left shoulder on Tuesday.
The procedure, which was performed by Yankees team doctor Christopher Ahmad. The hope is that Volpe will be ready for the start of the 2026 season, though the Yankees will have to see how he progresses post-op. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman first reported the surgery.
The Yankees are expected to discuss Volpe’s timeline on Thursday, as Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone will hold a postmortem press conference at Yankee Stadium a week after the team was eliminated from postseason play in the ALDS.
On Sept. 12, Cashman said he didn’t expect Volpe would need surgery, though he noted that things can change and added, “I wouldn’t rule it out.”
“They’ll just repeat imaging at the end of the year and see where he’s at,” Cashman said at the time, “but as of right now, there’s no surgery recommended. There’s not even an IL recommendation.”
Volpe originally injured his non-throwing shoulder while diving for a ball on May 3. In the weeks and months that followed, he was routinely spotted with large wraps on his shoulder after games. However, he and the Yankees repeatedly said the injury wasn’t impacting his performance, even as he endured another disappointing season at the plate and saw his once Gold Glove defense regress.
It wasn’t until Sept. 11 that Boone revealed Volpe had been playing with a partially torn labrum for months. He re-aggravated the injury on Sept. 7 and received a cortisone shot on Sept. 10, which kept him out of the lineup until Sept. 16.
Volpe also received a cortisone shot during the All-Star break.
Even after Volpe’s partial tear was revealed, Boone said he didn’t think the injury impacted the 24-year-old’s play.
“I don’t think it’s been a major factor in his performance,” the manager said.
If that’s the case, the Yankees should seriously evaluate how they want to handle the shortstop position moving forward, as Volpe hit .212/.272/.391 with 19 home runs, 72 RBI and an 83 wRC+ during the regular season before adding a .192 average, a .538 OPS, one homer, two RBI, zero walks and 16 strikeouts in the playoffs.
“We grinded the whole way until today,” Volpe said of playing through his shoulder injury after the Blue Jays knocked the Yankees out of the postseason. “I know I could have done a lot better.”
After three big league seasons, Volpe now owns a .222/.283/.379 slash line and an 85 wRC+. His defense also took a serious step backward this season, as his 19 errors were the fourth-most in the majors. Volpe also ended the season with -7 Outs Above Average, a -5 Fielding Run Value and two Defensive Runs saved.
When asked about Volpe’s defense midseason, Cashman did note that the infielder was playing through things, but the Yankees continued to run him out there every day until the second cortisone shot.
At that point, José Caballero filled in for Volpe. However, Volpe received the majority of the starts at short once he returned from his injection, including every playoff game.
While their past actions suggest Volpe will remain entrenched at shortstop, the Yankees would be justified if they embraced competition at the position. That could just mean a spring training battle with Caballero, though Boone has said the speedy utilityman provides value off the bench.
There won’t be many viable external options this winter, at least not on the open market.
Bo Bichette will be the top free agent shortstop, but he’s a poor defender. Some potential free agents, like Trevor Story and Ha-Seong Kim, can remain with their current clubs via options.
