Alexander Wilson
The New York Yankees will spend plenty of time kicking themselves over the bullpen collapse against the Mets, and they should. Blowing a 6-3 lead with two outs in the ninth is brutal.
But Anthony Volpe’s game should not get buried under that mess.
After the shoulder surgery, the rehab assignment, the option to Triple-A, and the awkward return only because Jose Caballero hit the injured list, Volpe finally gave the Yankees exactly the kind of response they needed. He looked like a player fighting his way back into their plans, not waiting for the job to come back to him.
Volpe finally gave the Yankees some offense
Volpe went 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, three RBIs, and a run scored in Sunday’s 7-6 loss. He doubled for his first MLB hit of the season, delivered a two-run single in the sixth, and drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh.
It was a complete offensive day, and it came at the exact time he needed one.
The best part was the approach, not just the two hits. Volpe reached base four times and forced the Mets to actually throw him strikes. Across the Subway Series, he had two hits, seven walks, three RBIs, and 13 plate appearances, a pretty loud on-base response for a player who looked completely stuck a week ago.
The shortstop conversation is not over
None of this erases the bigger shortstop discussion. Caballero earned the starting job before the broken finger, and Volpe still has plenty to prove. One strong game does not wipe away last season’s offensive issues or the rough Triple-A stint.
But it does change the tone a bit.
Volpe had been carrying a bad look. He was coming off left shoulder surgery, then hit only .205/.238/.333 in Triple-A during the rehab and reset window. When the Yankees brought him back, it felt more like necessity than belief.
Sunday gave them a reason to believe a little more. Not blindly, not permanently, but enough to keep giving him at-bats while Caballero recovers.
How Volpe keeps himself relevant
The Yankees do not need Volpe to be a superstar right now. They need him to defend cleanly, control the zone, put the ball in play, and avoid becoming a dead spot in the lineup.
Sunday checked those boxes. He did not chase his way into bad counts. He took his walks. He drove in runs. He doubled. He made the bottom of the order feel like something other than a place rallies go to die.
It matters for a player trying to rebuild trust.
Caballero should still have a strong claim to the job when healthy, but Volpe can make that decision much harder if he stacks games like this. The Yankees have been waiting for him to respond with something more than words about staying focused, and Sunday was finally a real answer.
Now he has to do it again, because one response is good, but a streak is what would actually force the Yankees to rethink the whole thing.
More about:New York Yankees
