Yankees have been caught short with Anthony Volpe
Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe reacts after he is called out on strikes against the Tigers at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Are the Yankees really going to allow an impaired vision of Anthony Volpe’s future to negatively impact their present chances of winning the division? Or even potentially grabbing the American League’s best record in the process?
Reading between the lines of Aaron Boone’s pregame presser Tuesday, we’d venture to guess the answer to those questions has got to be no, as the manager repeatedly stressed the urgency of this month, along with fielding the best lineup possible for these final 17 games.
Yes, Volpe was again the starting shortstop for Tuesday’s series opener against the Tigers — the current owner of the AL’s top record — but Boone at least said he “considered” using Jose Caballero instead. The fact that Boone even copped to the idea about putting Volpe back on the bench is progress when viewed through the Yankees’ funhouse-mirror logic, and the issue certainly isn’t going away.
While the blame for Tuesday’s gruesome 12-2 loss to the Tigers belonged squarely with the bullpen, Boone still had to regret starting Volpe, who looked terrible striking out twice and even worse failing to get a bunt down with two on, none out and the score tied at 2 in the fifth inning. Volpe twice popped up foul, the second one landing in the third baseman’s glove to roaring boos from the crowd 35,653.
The Yankees virtually ignored the Volpe problem for five months, and now they’re stuck with it at the worst possible time, trying to improve their playoff position before attempting another deep October run. Rather than demote Volpe for some recalibrating down at Triple-A Scranton, like nearly every other team would have done, the Yankees mistakenly chose to ride it out, to the detriment of both the team and player.
As far as their title hopes, however, it’s not too late for a last-minute fix, and that should be giving Caballero a greater share of the shortstop position, which Boone now sounds more open to doing. On Tuesday, Boone offered the obligatory words of encouragement regarding Volpe, but they weren’t delivered in a forceful manner, maybe with the understanding that his audience stopped believing them a while ago.
“Anthony, I view as our shortstop,” Boone said. “But Caballero is a really good player. I’m aware of that, and feel a lot of confidence anytime I put him in there. Obviously, he’s gotten some more opportunities here of late where I have sat Anthony and we’re at a time of the year where obviously we’re playing for a lot right now. I look at it as all hands on deck every day and try to do what’s best for the team every day.”
Any lineup that includes Volpe would seem to undermine that mantra, especially since the Yankees traded for Caballero on July 31. Speaking about the deadline deal back then, GM Brian Cashman dismissed the suggestion that it was partly done as a hedge against Volpe’s continuing decline, but it would have been negligent not to prepare for this scenario.
The numbers don’t lie. Volpe has been one of the worst players in the majors all season, on both sides of the ball. Before Tuesday night, his .207 batting average ranks second from the bottom among the 147 qualified players as does his .269 on-base percentage. Volpe also has 19 errors, the second-highest total to Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz’s 23.
In most cases, for someone with minor-league options, that unsightly resume would punch their ticket back to Triple-A, never mind the shortstop for the defending AL champs, a World Series-or-bust team with a $315 million payroll. The excuse was always that the Yankees didn’t have a viable alternative, but that changed once Caballero arrived.
So why are the Yankees still giving Volpe a (shrinking) chance now? Probably because they were able to carry him over their recent 18-7 stretch, powered by the second-best offensive team in the majors (to the Mets) since Aug. 11. Amid those fireworks, Volpe had been his usual dud, batting .152 (12-for-79) with a .181 OBP, .291 slugging and a 32.9% strikeout rate.
I asked Boone before Tuesday’s game if he was now taking a closer look at factors like matchups and recent performance when choosing that night’s shortstop.
“I’d like to think I’m always looking at those intensely, but yeah, we are at that time of the year where it’s all about trying to win tonight,” Boone said. “Maybe a little more scrutiny or intensity to it.”
If that’s true, the Yankees shouldn’t still be doing damage control with Volpe, who seems to be going backward in his third season. That’s not how development is supposed to work for a first-round draft pick.
“It’s very hard to get to the major leagues,” Derek Jeter said Monday at CC Sabathia’s charity event. “Once you get to the major leagues, it’s even harder to stay in the major leagues.”
The Yankees kept Volpe in the Bronx despite his deepening issues this season. But that doesn’t mean he has to keep hurting them now, too.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
