Despite a promising outlook for 2025, New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe is having perhaps the worst year of his career yet. The 24-year-old is in the midst of his third season in pinstripes, and while he has yet to relinquish ownership of the starting shortstop role, that could change very soon.
Yankees Shortstop In Danger Of Losing Starting Role
The Yankees acquired utility infielder Jose Caballero from the Tampa Bay Rays last month, and he has been lights-out in his short tenure in the Bronx. He primarily plays shortstop but has yet to see consistent playing time at the position. However, with his hot start in New York coinciding with Volpe’s continuing struggles, he could easily take over the shortstop position in the near future.
Defense First
One of Volpe’s saving graces in his rookie and sophomore seasons was his spectacular defense. After winning a Gold Glove in his first season, he followed it up with another outstanding performance at shortstop last season (which helped hide his rather ugly offensive numbers). However, he doesn’t seem to have that fallback this season. Volpe has not only been one of the worst defensive shortstops in the league this season, but also one of MLB’s worst defenders at any position. His 17 errors are second only to Elly de la Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds (20), and his -7 outs above average (OAA) are miles below the +13 OAA he put up last season.
Caballero, on the other hand, has +4 OAA so far this season, and can play just as well at multiple positions. Additionally, Volpe’s speed (which has been one of his premium assets in his big league career) doesn’t even save him here, as Caballero trails his average feet-per-second speed by just 0.3 feet. In terms of fielding, it’s pretty obvious who the better choice is.
There’s Bad, And There’s Worse
It doesn’t get much better for Volpe from here in comparison to Caballero. It’s true that Volpe has improved on his walk rate, barrel rate, and chase rate from his first two seasons, but his other numbers are just too bad to ignore any longer. His .208/.274/.400 slash line is almost worse than what he put up in his rookie year, and the only stat where he shows significant improvement is RBIs (65). Caballero is also not the world’s greatest hitter with a career OPS+ of 85, but since being traded to the Yankees, the 28-year-old has been much, much better at the plate. After Monday’s game, he has gone 9-32 with 2 homers, 9 runs, and 6 stolen bases in just 16 games (Volpe has 6 stolen bases since July 6). It is painstakingly obvious, at least right now, who the better option to start at shortstop is.
Time to Step Up
Manager Aaron Boone has made no indication that Volpe is in any danger of losing the starting shortstop job. Still, he did bench him in favor of Caballero in Sunday’s series finale against the Boston Red Sox and in Monday’s series opener against the Washington Nationals. Volpe still has some time to right his wrongs and get back on track, but not much. Plus, with criticism of Boone only getting louder and louder after a painful series loss to Boston over the weekend, Boone might have to make a power move and switch out his shortstop to not only save his job, but save the Yankees from losing out on a spot in the postseason.
Main Photo Credits: John Jones-Imagn Images
The post Yankees Shortstop In Danger Of Losing Starting Role appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.