As Aaron Boone offered his most revealing answers to date on Anthony Volpe’s aching left shoulder, he also declined to blame the injury for the shortstop’s struggles this season.
While the Yankees believe Volpe’s injury, a partial labrum tear, dates back further, his shoulder first became a concern after he dove for a ball on May 3. Volpe said he felt a pop that day, while Boone said X-rays and an MRI gave the Yankees “good news” the next day.
Boone, as recently as Wednesday, and Volpe have repeatedly dismissed questions about the 24-year-old’s health since, even with the player routinely wearing large ice wraps on his shoulder after games.
On Thursday, however, the New York Post reported that Volpe received a cortisone shot on Wednesday after reaggravating his shoulder injury on a dive this past Sunday. Boone confirmed that, while the Yankees added that Volpe also received a cortisone shot during the All-Star break.
When Anthony Volpe’s shoulder came up in Aaron Boone’s postgame scrum in Toronto on July 21 (just a few days after the All-Star break) Aaron Boone was asked if the shortstop is “okay physically.”
He replied, “Yep.”
Volpe was asked if he was healthy that same night, and he said… https://t.co/unylYDz9ni
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) September 11, 2025
These disclosures come with Volpe in the midst of an awful season, as he entered Friday’s series-opener in Boston with a .661 OPS and an 81 wRC+. He had a .454 OPS over his last 32 games and a .621 OPS since May 3.
Volpe has also regressed in the field, as his 19 errors were tied for the second-most in the majors. His -9 Outs Above Average ranked 22nd among 23 qualified shortstops.
However, Boone declined to connect any dots between Volpe’s production and the shoulder injury he has been playing through for months.
“Not much,” the manager said when asked how much of a factor Anthony 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?
“But I don’t think it’s been a major factor in his performance, or his ability to swing the bat, or his ability to go to the post every day. That’s my sense.”
It was a notable response from Boone — who also said Volpe’s recent benching wasn’t related to the shoulder reaggravation — as he has repeatedly defended and excused the shortstop over the last three seasons.
That is not to say Boone should be using this injury as an excuse, as Volpe’s woes predate his dive on May 3.
While Volpe had a .786 OPS over 32 games prior to that this year, he entered Friday with a .221 average, a .282 on-base percentage, a .379 slugging percentage, a .661 OPS and an 84 wRC+ over 1,846 plate appearances for his career, which has been littered with peaks and valley and numerous changes in approach at the plate.
Of the 95 players with at least 1,500 plate appearances since Volpe’s debut in 2023, he ranks last or second-to-last in each of those categories, except for slugging. In that case, Volpe ranks 91st.
Volpe’s bat speed is also a career-high 72.6 mph despite his injured front shoulder, as is his 82-mph average throwing velocity — he’s a righty — so his strength doesn’t appear to be compromised. Volpe’s shoulder isn’t to blame for his shoddy footwork in the field or frequent failure to charge groundballs, either.
With the infielder expected to avoid the injured list for now — he said it will “be nice to feel good” following his latest shot — Volpe also shied away from attributing his performance to his shoulder.
“It’s hard to say,” Volpe said when asked if he’s been limited by his injury after sitting in favor of José Caballero on Wednesday and Thursday. “As a competitor, I want to be out there every day. We put in so much work to make myself mentally and physically ready to go, so I’ll never accept that.”
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