The Yankees are nursing some injuries on the pitching staff as they eagerly wait the returns of Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole, but Anthony Volpe will also miss Opening Day in all likelihood due to offseason surgery.
He underwent a labrum surgery to fix a tear that could put him on the sideline through April, but he’s eager to get back on the field and rebound after a tough 2025 campaign.
Volpe has begun his hitting progression according to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News, who noted that the shortstop will do some tee work and soft toss as his next steps in that rehabilitation process.
The young infielder didn’t shy away from addressing the criticism he has faced for his underwhelming offensive production, saying he ‘appreciates’ the accountability and wouldn’t ‘trade it for the world’.
2026 is a pivotal season for Anthony Volpe, who has a chip on his shoulder as he looks to prove the critics wrong in what could be his final year as the team’s unquestioned starter at shortstop.
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Anthony Volpe Looks to Rebound In Fourth Season With the Yankees
At the end of the 2024 season there was a bitter taste in the mouths of Yankees’ fans who watched the Los Angeles Dodgers party on the very field where the New York Yankees called home following Game 5 of the World Series.
One of the silver linings from that series was the play of shortstop Anthony Volpe, who made massive improvements defensive during the regular season and shined in that postseason.
His bat speed gains carried into 2025, but he did not make the strides needed offensively while taking a massive step back in the defensive department.
A slide in his production can be traced to when he sustained a serious labrum injury against the Rays that was downplayed throughout the regular season before an MRI revealed the extent of the damage.
The Yankees are hoping for a return to his normal defensive excellence in 2026, and Anthony Volpe is hoping to rebound as well, telling reporters he has a ‘chip’ in his shoulder and has had one for his entire career.
Since making his MLB debut in 2023, Anthony Volpe has the seventh-worst OBP (.283) in baseball, and while he’s mostly been a positive baserunner and fielder at a premium position, his bat has lagged behind severely.
While his numbers were above-average prior to the shoulder injury, he will have to prove that the injury caused the slide and not his lack of offensive prowess at the plate.
Volpe himself swears the injury didn’t cause the poor play, but it is rather stark to see the difference in defensive and offensive effectiveness following that fated play against the Rays in May.
Whether he can rebound or not remains to be seen, but with Jose Caballero displaying an ability to create some chaos on the bases and play some sound shortstop, Anthony Volpe has some serious competition if he flounders again.
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