Anthony Volpe’s debut, on Opening Day 2023, was supposed to be the start of something.
Expectations for theBig Apple born, New Jersey raised,childhood Yankee fanwere outrageously high. For good reason. Volpe, still 21 years old, had just captured the Yankees’ starting shortstop job with a sensational spring training. Talent evaluators gushed about his maturity, defensive acumen and baseball IQ.
Drafted as a glove-first infielder with strong bat-to-ball skills, Volpe had reinvented himself by reengineering his swing for home run power. Recently departed Yankee legend Brett Gardner had even given Volpe permission to wear his No. 11 jersey. It was a bright, limitless future for the hometown kid living out his dream.
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On Tuesday,Volpe will, for the first time since his big league debut, return to the minor leagues in earnest. After undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, Volpe had been playing in Double-A and Triple-A on a rehab assignment. But with that 20-day rehab clock expiring, the American League leading Yankees optioned the 25-year-old to Triple-A on Sunday night. José Caballero, whom the club acquired from Tampa Bay at last year’s trade deadline, will continue on as the starting shortstop.
It’s a stunning move, one that Yankees brass had, time and time again, appeared hesitant to make. Volpe, despite lackluster offensive showings throughout his first three major league seasons, received unwavering support from manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman. Even team owner Hal Steinbrenner publicly backed the scuffling shortstop at one point. And as recently as mid-April, Cashman implied that Volpe would likely regain his starting spot upon completing his rehab assignment.
But that’s not how things played out.
Part of it has to do with Caballero, who has shined defensively this season for a Yankees team laying waste to the American League. His surface-level offensive numbers are perfectly viable, even though his underlying metrics tell a different story. Clearly though, the frisky Panamanian has played well enough and given the Yankees enough of an edge for Volpe to end up back in Triple-A.
