Anthony Volpe is having a rough stretch at the plate, his defense has been shaky, and now a new report suggests that the Yankees’ shortstop might have made things harder on himself before he even got back to the big leagues.
Michael Kay, the longtime Yankees broadcaster and ESPN New York host, dropped an interesting bit of history on his show Tuesday. According to Kay, multiple sources told him that while Volpe was still in the minors, the Yankees asked him to start taking reps at second base. Volpe’s response? No. He told them he was a shortstop.
The clip, shared by Talkin’ Yanks, quickly made the rounds.
Here’s the thing: during that minor league stint, Volpe only played shortstop. Meanwhile, Jose Caballero was handling the position in the majors and playing well. The Yankees were winning when Caballero started. When Volpe started, not so much. The team is well above .500 with Caballero at short and below that mark with their former top prospect.
Caballero eventually got hurt, which opened the door for Volpe to return. But the two have been splitting time at short ever since, and it hasn’t exactly been a smooth rotation.
A What-If at Second Base
This gets more interesting when you factor in Jazz Chisholm Jr., who is in his final year of team control before hitting free agency. Chisholm has made it clear he wants a $300 million deal, and the Yankees might not be the ones to give it to him. If Volpe had agreed to learn second base in the minors, he could have been a natural replacement next season. Instead, the Yankees might be looking at an open hole at second with no obvious internal fix.
Volpe is digging in on shortstop. But the numbers aren’t exactly backing him up. Over his last 11 games, he’s hitting .125 with a .356 OPS and just one extra-base hit. That’s brutal by any standard, especially for a guy who wants to lock down a premium defensive position on a team with World Series expectations.
Where This Leaves the Yankees
Right now, the Yankees are in the middle of a series with the Rays at Tropicana Field. Their offense has been ice cold for more than a week. Defensively, they’re giving up unearned runs at a historic rate. Volpe is getting the bulk of the blame from fans and media, but he’s also not the only problem.
It’s worth remembering that Volpe is still young. He has time to turn things around. But stubbornness about a position switch in the minors, combined with a prolonged slump, is not a great look. The Yankees need production. They need flexibility. And right now, Volpe isn’t giving them either.
The two teams play again Wednesday night at 6:40. Volpe will likely be in the lineup. What he does from here will say a lot about whether this report is a footnote or a turning point.
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