Alexander Wilson
The New York Yankees are giving Anthony Volpe another chance because Jose Caballero is out with a fractured middle finger, not because Volpe forced his way back into the picture. That distinction matters.
Volpe should not really be in the majors right now. If he is, then the standard has to be simple: elite defense, clean decision-making, and enough contact to keep the lineup from eating empty outs at the bottom. Anything less, and the whole thing gets hard to justify.
That may sound harsh, but it is where the Yankees are. Volpe hit .212/.272/.391 with 19 homers, 72 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, and 150 strikeouts last season, and the production never matched the leash. There was power, sure, but there was also too much swing-and-miss, too many dead at-bats, and not enough stability for a player who had been treated like the unquestioned shortstop for three years.
Volpe has not hit his way back
The Yankees already sent Volpe down to Triple-A to regroup after he tried to work back from a partially torn labrum. That was the right call. He needed a reset, and frankly, the organization needed one too.
The problem is that the reset did not exactly fix the bat. Volpe hit just .205/.238/.333 over nine games in Triple-A with one homer, five RBIs, and a 42 wRC+, which is not the kind of minor-league line that screams promotion. It points more toward a player still trying to find his hands, timing, and confidence on the fly.
Since coming back up, Volpe has gone 0-for-6 over three games, though the five walks are at least something. He went 0-for-2 with two walks Saturday against the Mets, which is better than chasing everything out of the zone, but the Yankees need more than passive traffic. They need the ball in play.
Caballero earned the job
Caballero should walk right back into the starting shortstop job when he is healthy. He did not win the job by accident, and his injury forced the Yankees into this Volpe pivot.
Caballero has given the Yankees exactly what they needed: speed, contact, energy, defensive reliability, and a little bit of pop. He is hitting .259/.320/.400 with four homers, 13 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases, and defensively he has been much steadier than people want to admit. He’s actually on pace for a Gold Glove. In 40 games at shortstop, he has posted a .982 fielding percentage with only three errors.
Volpe, meanwhile, already has an error in three games back. That does not mean he cannot defend the position, because he absolutely can, but if the bat is not coming, the glove has to be spotless. Gold Glove-level defense is not a bonus in this situation, it is the cost of entry.
The Yankees cannot wait forever
Volpe was honest about trying to control what he can after opening up about his demotion, and that is the right mindset. Nobody should pretend the mental side of this is easy. Being the Yankees’ starting shortstop, getting sent down, and then coming back only because someone else got hurt is a lot to carry.
But the Yankees are not in development mode. They are trying to win games, and Caballero has been the better fit for this roster right now. Volpe still has talent, but talent is not the same thing as production.
If Volpe wants to change the conversation, he has to do it fast. Put the ball in play, defend at a ridiculous level, and make the Yankees think twice. If not, Caballero should get his job back the second that finger is ready.
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