Anthony Volpe optioned to minors as Yankees make shocking pivot from former starting shortstop

NEW YORK — Anthony Volpe’s rehab clock is over. His time in the minor leagues is not.

With his 20-day window to return from offseason shoulder surgery expiring on Sunday, the Yankees chose not to activate their starting shortstop of the last three seasons. Instead, they optioned Volpe to Triple-A.

The decision, while telegraphed over the past few days, is a stunning and drastic departure from the rose-tinted glasses that the Yankees have always used to evaluate Volpe since his debut in 2023. However, the team never had a viable alternative during that stretch.

That’s not currently the case with José Caballero, a career utilityman, seizing his shot to start at shortstop over the past few weeks.

“We’re off to a really good start, and he’s been right in the middle of that defensively and offensively,” Aaron Boone said of Caballero Sunday before a decision on Volpe had been finalized. “So he’s earned some opportunities there. It’s really as simple as that, and then you’re weighing what’s the best thing for our team moving forward.

“It’s a long season, and we’re in this moment of time that you kind of get trapped in a little bit, but there’s going to be so many opportunities for different guys. The fact is we’re probably as deep as we’ve ever been, and we have real competition for real spots and real roles on the team that we haven’t had at some moments in time, in some portions of [past] seasons.”

It was only a few weeks ago, on April 10, that Cashman said the plan was “always” for Volpe to reclaim the starting shortstop job — which he’s had a near-stranglehold on since becoming a big leaguer — though the general manager noted that the decision would ultimately be Boone’s. But with Caballero turning a slow start around the following day – he was hitting .319 with a .905 OPS, four home runs, 11 RBI and seven stolen bases over 20 games before going 1 for 4 with a swipe in Sunday’s win over the Orioles – the Yankees’ plans have changed.

“We’ll see,” Boone said Sunday when asked if the organization has pivoted from Cashman’s comment. “We’ll continue to talk about that. Again, Josie’s played himself into and earned himself more playing time. I love the idea of José being in that super utility role because he’s so good at it, but you also can’t ignore that he’s played so well defensively at shortstop and has been a real spark for us offensively.”

Boone added that Caballero, who leads all shortstop with seven Defensive Runs Saved, “is playing the heck out of the position." The 29-year-old is batting .259 with a .711 OPS and an American League-leading 13 stolen bases overall as well.