Anthony Volpe’s Future Is Once Again Up in the Air

Despite being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend, the New York Yankees continue to be one of the top teams in the league. They sit just one game back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East, boasting the second-best record in the American League.

An interesting tidbit of their success is that there have been few major roster moves, except for a few minor injuries. Gerrit Cole is progressing from his Tommy John surgery, and Carlos Rodón just made his season debut on Sunday.

Another notable Yankee who started the season on the injured list is Anthony Volpe, as he received surgery on a partially torn labrum in October. A former top prospect and the starting shortstop for the better part of the last three seasons, the New Jersey native has had to bear a lot of scrutiny due to poor play, often coinciding with the team’s slides down the standings in 2023 and 2025.

Upon his return from his rehab asisgnment, the Yankees optioned Volpe to Triple-A Scranton, but with the team performing well — particularly José Caballero, who has had the majority of starts at shortstop — the Yankees seem content to not break up the team’s chemistry.

Though the decision to keep Volpe in the minors for the time being was surprising, here is why this decision is a good idea for both Volpe and the Yankees.

Stats were taken prior to play on May 11.

Volpe’s Complicated Relationship in the Bronx

Volpe grew up a Yankees fan after being born on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and growing up in New Jersey. He famously met Derek Jeter as a child, and many fans expected him to be the long-awaited successor at shortstop, a position the Yankees have struggled with since Jeter’s retirement.

Volpe came up to much fanfare on Opening Day in 2023. He would hit .209 in his rookie year with 113 hits and 21 home runs. However, his .283 on-base percentage was the second-to-last among qualified players.

In 2024, he improved slightly, collecting 155 hits and going on a 21-game hitting streak in May, the longest by a Yankee in over a decade. He had 14 hits in the team’s run to the AL Pennant and had his signature moment, a grand slam that helped propel the Yankees to a Game 4 win in the World Series.

He regressed in 2025, though, hitting .212 with a .272 on-base percentage, striking out in just over 25% of his plate appearances. Where the attention was centered was on his defensive play, as he led the team with a whopping 19 errors and often seemed unsure of his abilities in the field.

Whether it was a dropped transfer while trying to turn a double play or an airmailed throw to first, his mishaps often came in spurts.

When it was revealed he was having the labrum surgery, most fans expected he would still have a spot on the team when his rehab was over, but that has not proven to be the case. And many think it is for the better.

Why This Is Good for the Team

A big reason for the team’s success has been the excellent play of their stars.

Aaron Judge continues to be his MVP-self, leading the league with 16 homers, and players like Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger should contend for All-Star spots. The starting pitching has also excelled even in the absence of Cole and Rodón, with guys like Cam Schlittler and Will Warren being better than expected.

Another big factor is the position players who have stepped up.

This is especially the case for Caballero and Amed Rosario. Caballero currently has a .259 batting average along with a .320 on-base percentage and .720 OPS. He’s been an above-average hitter by wRC+ for the first time in his career, and he’s also managed to steal 13 bases thus far.

His defense has also been stellar even as a smaller shortstop, with a +3 outs above average and +9 defensive runs saved. All that has led to 1.1 fWAR, which ranks just outside the top 20 in the American League among qualified position players.

Manager Aaron Boone, who many used to criticize for insisting that Volpe stay in the lineup, said he loves the idea of Caballero playing a “super-utility role because he is so good at it.”

Caballero has driven in the go-ahead run for the Yankees six times, including three times past the seventh inning. He also drove in the first runs of the season and has a walk-off single to his name. Simply put, he’s too valuable to take out of the lineup at the moment.

On the flip side, Rosario has also performed well, with a .500 slugging percentage and a .816 OPS. In 76 plate appearances, he’s posted a 123 wRC+ to go with a .351 wOBA. Although he has been tossed around positionally and been used as an infielder, outfielder and designated hitter, he has come up in big spots for the team.

Point being, Volpe’s replacements on the roster are not just holding their own but have established themselves as key contributors through the first month and a half of play. Removing them for a struggling Volpe, which we’ll touch on in a moment, would make little sense.

The Yankees should take advantage of this success while they have it and not try to force Volpe on the team out of principle, which could disrupt their mojo and attract unwanted attention. We’ve reached the point where Volpe needs to earn his spot back, and he simply has not done that yet.

Why This Is Good for Volpe

Even with his struggles, fans never doubted Volpe’s attitude and commitment to the team. It was one of the reasons he was given a shot in the first place, being a homegrown talent.

Spending some extra time in the minor leagues should help him gain renewed confidence in his game and allow him to perform while not under the bright lights of the Bronx.

In his last full year in the minors in 2022, he split his time between 110 games with Double-A Somerset and 22 games with Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre. He hit 21 homers with .460 slugging percentage and a .802 OPS. Since that year, he’s struggled at the plate across three big-league seasons.

Potentially having a season where he matches or eclipses these rates of performance could mean a call-up to show later in the season or a better outlook for himself on his career. He will also have the added competition of top prospect George Lombard Jr., a fellow shortstop, to help motivate him.

That said, not only did Volpe struggle on his rehab assignment, but he hasn’t exactly hit the ground running in Triple-A, either. In his nine games in Double-A, Volpe slashed .241/.324/.241 with a 64 wRC+. In nine games in Triple-A, his numbers have dropped even further, hitting just over .200 with a .571 OPS and 43 wRC+.

He’s in a funk that he just can’t seem to shake, and the Yankees cannot afford to have him work through those struggles at the big-league level for the time being — especially with how Caballero has performed at the onset of 2026.

Final Thoughts

Now with the injury to outfielder Jasson Dominguez, the Yankees have called up another top minor leaguer in Spencer Jones, who people have compared, somewhat exaggeratedly, to both Judge and Shohei Ohtani given his stature and power profile.

This shows the team is still unafraid to put trust in their young guys, which bodes well for Volpe, given he can eventually turn things around in the minors.

As for Volpe’s long-term future, he will certainly need to perform well in Triple-A to earn his way back to the majors if Caballero falls off or if he is injured. He should still expect to be in contention for a major league roster spot for the foreseeable future, as the front office has not shown any plans to give up on him.

If he does not perform, then he could be making is way out of the Yankees organization sometime next offseason.

With the Yankees having one of their best starts both on the field and seemingly in the front office, they should continue to be confident in the squad they have assembled and not try to force a move that could back fire as the season progresses.