The Yankees cannot afford to keep their current shortstop situation

Anthony Volpe has hurt the Yankees too many times this season for them to continue trotting him out there at shortstop.

Once a marvelous defender who made up for the poor offensive output by preventing runs with his glove, the defensive value has cratered, and the offense continues to be a mess.

The approach continues to be in contradiction with itself at the plate, the defense has been bad this year, and the team finally has a backup who can take his place.

It’s not to claim that Jose Caballero is a player without faults, but his warts as a player are far easier to mask than Volpe’s, and Aaron Boone cannot keep putting his team’s chances in the hands of their former top prospect.

Jose Caballero Needs to Be the Yankees’ Primary Shortstop

This has been a nightmare season for Anthony Volpe, who is both sporting his worst wRC+ (83) and worst Fielding Run Value (-5) of his career.

A defense-first shortstop last year, I thought the fanbase seriously undervalued how important it is to have a defensive anchor at one of the most important positions on the diamonds.

In the same manner that I pleaded with people to see the value in elite defense at shortstop, I have to urge the Yankees to make a change at the position for defensive purposes.

Jose Caballero isn’t an elite defensive shortstop but he is a good one, and that alone makes a huge difference in run prevention due to how important the position is.

Volpe is lost right now; the Yankees can continue saying he’s about to figure it out, but why hedge your bet on someone who has a laundry list of compiling mistakes on the field?

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To make matters worse, Anthony Volpe has been a complete zero at the plate, sporting an 83 wRC+ and .271 OBP in 137 games at the plate.

He does have the power to put a run on the board with one swing, but unlike in previous seasons he’s a good not great baserunner.

Jose Caballero on the otherhand has slightly outhit Volpe, trading power for better on-base skills while being a much better baserunner.

Worsening plate discipline has plagued Volpe, who is expanding the zone more and has just seven walks in his last 206 plate appearances.

Anthony Volpe has the second-lowest line drive rate among qualified hitters which explains the .240 BABIP, as he’s either hitting a flyball or groundball which have low batting average outcomes.

Furthermore, Volpe has a 12.4% Pull AIR%, meaning most of his contact in the air isn’t being optimized in a way that would allow him to hit home runs and slug.

The only player with a lower line drive rate than Volpe is his teammate Jazz Chishom, who has a 24.2% Pull AIR% and hits fewer groundballs than his middle infield partner.

You’ll never see Anthony Volpe hit for a decent average or provide enough power to overcome it with that approach, and after three years there’s seemingly no direction in his offensive game.

I’m sure all parties involved are trying, but those attempts have not materialized, and you have a player capable of providing the defense-first profile that you won with last season in Jose Caballero.

The Yankees’ best shortstop right now isn’t Anthony Volpe, and the sooner they recognize it, the better they’ll be for it.