Anthony Volpe is almost ready: Will Yankees do the unthinkable? | Klapisch

If history has taught us anything about the Yankees' braintrust, it’s that it takes them a long time to admit mistakes.

Think of Gary Sanchez spending an extra season or two in pinstripes, Joey Gallo and his parade of strikeouts or DJ LeMahieu hanging around long after his bat speed had vanished.

It was all because the Yankees were too slow and stubborn to move on.

The business model is changing, however. The Yankees were troubled enough by reliever Luke Weaver’s struggles in the 2025 postseason that they did not even make him an offer during free agency. The same went for closer Devin Williams.

And just this week, pitcher Luis Gil, the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, was demoted after four starts. Outfielder Randall Grichuk and his .194 average were shown the door after only 31 at-bats.

Now comes the ultimate test of the Yankees’ embrace of Michael Corleone’s time-honored credo: It’s not personal. It’s strictly business.

What to do about Anthony Volpe?

The shortstop is finally ready to come off the injured list after six months of rehabbing a torn labrum. José Caballero was supposed to serve as Volpe’s stand-in until all parties were ready for a controversy-free transition.

Volpe would get his job back. Caballero would be demoted to a utility role.

That understanding was set in stone — until manager Aaron Boone hedged when asked if he was ready to write Volpe’s name in the lineup on a full-time basis.

“We’ll see,” the manager said this week.

The comment touched off speculation on social media. Although it’s assumed Volpe will be activated on Friday, the Yankees have yet to update his status.

That leaves three possibilities.

♦ First, the social media noise is just that — guesswork from the outside. For all we know, the Yankees are waiting until the last possible moment to gauge Volpe’s health and durability. Barring an unforeseen setback, he’ll be in the lineup against the Orioles on Friday.

♦ The second scenario has Volpe returning to shortstop on a game-by-game, matchup-by-matchup basis depending on the opposing pitcher. He would play three or four games a week, splitting time with Caballero, who, frankly, has earned continued at-bats.

♦ The third scenario is the most radical option of all: Volpe won’t just be out of the lineup but will be handed a ticket to Triple-A.

This makes sense if you believe Caballero has far exceeded the Yankees’ expectations and deserves to stay put.

I cast my vote for Door No. 3.

I do so because if I were Boone or general manager Brian Cashman, I would be asking the only question that matters: Would replacing Caballero with Volpe make the Yankees any better? It’s hard to say yes.

At 20-10, the Yankees are the American League’s best team. They boast the No. 1 offense and the best starting rotation. The Yankees are coming off a 7-2 road trip that has some scouts wondering whether a World Series appearance is already in the cards.

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All this, without Volpe.

I suspect the Yankees’ hierarchy is absorbing the data with cold objectivity. Unlike past years, when it was unshakably loyal to Volpe, it is considering the numbers, which support Caballero.

For instance, FanGraphs ranks Caballero first among major league shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved at plus-6. Baseball Savant places Caballero 12th among 33 qualifiers in Outs Above Average. Volpe, on the other hand, was tied for 31st out of 37 qualifiers last year.

Caballero (.972) beats Volpe (.968) in career fielding percentage. This year, Caballero is exceeding his career average, currently at .976%.

On offense, Caballero has been a pleasant surprise. With a .267 average, he’s 35 points over his career average. Although he lacks Volpe’s power, Caballero has a lower strikeout rate and higher walk rate this year than Volpe did in 2025.

Caballero is exciting and charismatic and, by Boone’s own description, brings energy on both sides of the ball.

So what does this mean for Volpe? Sending him to Triple-A would benefit everyone involved. For one, there’s no pressing reason not to give Volpe additional time to work on his swing.

Doing so in a non-pressure setting would spare Volpe the wrath of Yankee Stadium fans who fell out of love with him last summer. The booing was intense.

If anyone were to blame, it would be Boone and Cashman, who continued to prop up Volpe as the next superstar long after it was obvious he wasn’t ready. The Yankees’ stubbornness turned into arrogance. The front office refused to admit its mistake after promoting Volpe to the big leagues in 2023 with little time at Triple-A.

The straight shot from Double-A to the Bronx ended up corrupting Volpe’s swing. Only 5-foot-11, he modeled himself after Aaron Judge — or tried to. Volpe batted .212 in 2025, a 31-point drop-off from .243 the year before.

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BOB KLAPISCH

As former Yankee great Willie Randolph said of Volpe’s swing recently, “He has that little loop, which I don’t like … sometimes the only way to change is to completely break down your swing and start over.”

The best place for that to happen is at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where the Yankees’ Triple-A team plays. It’s 127 miles away from the booing. It’s where Volpe fits for now, just as Caballero belongs at shortstop at 161st Street and River Avenue.

He’s earned it.

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