Can Anthony Volpe Still Make an Impact With Yankees in 2026?

Anthony Volpe has had quite a tumultuous last two years with the Yankees, culminating in his demotion to Triple-A at the beginning of August.

The move favored the team's top prospect, George Lombard Jr., who has assumed the shortstop position in the Bronx and has looked quite impressive so far.

For Volpe, it's been a long fall from grace since his Gold Glove rookie season, where he also finished 8th in the ROY voting, and now many people are wondering if the hometown kid will ever don the pinstripes again.

While the Triple-A demotion has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for the 25-year-old so far, there is still a real belief that Volpe could impact this current Yankees roster, but with one big change.

Bumpy ride in the minors

Despite playing in just nine Triple-A games since his demotion, Volpe has made headlines for good and bad reasons.

In just his first game since rejoining the team, Volpe launched a homer to dead center, but he also struck out three times and turned a fairly routine ground ball into a tough throwing error.

Then, just a couple of games later, Volpe made quite a gaffe with the new Automated Balls and Strikes system (ABS), losing both of his team's challenges in the first at-bat. The first challenge was certainly the worst of the two, as it was a clear strike and quite unnecessary, coming on a 3-0 pitch.

The RailRiders are OUT OF CHALLENGES just 6 pitches into the game😬#yankees #railriders #volpe #anthonyvolpe pic.twitter.com/Weuj3SwcQV
— Lehigh Valley IronPigs (@IronPigs) August 13, 2026

That ABS error went pretty viral on social media, with even the opposing team making a joke post about it, as you can see above.

One positive from Volpe's short stint in Scranton so far was a seven-game hitting streak with two homers mixed in, but it was recently snapped after an 0-for-4 night, now leaving Volpe just 2-for-13 with four strikeouts over his last 3 games.

A hitting streak, a couple of homers, an ABS error, a throwing error, and now a position change have all mixed for quite the nine-game rollercoaster ride for the former top prospect.

Volpe as a platoon option at second base

Pretty much the only reason people think Volpe could still impact this year's team is because of how much Jazz Chisholm Jr. has struggled at the plate.

Chisholm has been ice cold recently, posting a lowly .146 average and a .459 OPS across 13 August games, even being benched against right-hander Dylan Cease on Sunday in Toronto.

With Volpe getting more and more reps at 2B, appearing at the position in 6 of his 9 Scranton games since his return, there is a belief that he could work his way into a platoon spot, splitting time with Chisholm.

Volpe still has some positives as a player, regardless of what many Yankee fans would say, and his postseason experience combined with his general ability to hit left-handed pitching could make him a bench piece on the postseason roster.

When talking about Volpe's position on the field a couple of years ago, there was talk even then that his arm strength was the one thing holding him back at shortstop, and a position change to second base could certainly be in the future.

Now that time has come, it might just be the one thing that keeps him in the Yankees organization a bit longer than some people think.

So far, Volpe has been a steady glove at second base, even showing off what has made him a Gold Glove winner a few times, and has yet to make an error.

Anthony Volpe makes a great play on a tough hop up the middle!!🔥

Volpe has been playing more and more 2B and looking more comfortable as well... pic.twitter.com/HSfyvARfMC
— Cai Rogers (@cai_rogers7) August 15, 2026

That said, Volpe will need to prove to Boone and the front office over the next couple of weeks that he can be a steady and reliable glove at second base for the team to even consider such a thing, plus Chisholm will have to continually struggle with the bat.

The idea is certainly not out of the question for the team, and Volpe, now playing second base pretty much every day in the minors, could be more than just learning a new position for next year, but maybe as the team heads toward October baseball.

Final thoughts

In my personal opinion, I have my worries about a potential Volpe return to the Bronx for a couple of reasons.

My main reason is how Volpe is currently viewed and treated by fans and the media, which is not good and is easily one of the biggest flips on a player in the New York media in recent memory.

I have personally believed that many things could be mental for Volpe after a tough season that saw him essentially injured the whole year and he didn't perform well, and things could only get worse if he returned to New York and struggles continued on both sides of the ball.

On the flip side, the Yankees desperately need offense, and if Volpe can play solid second base, he would certainly be an experienced option you must look at when platooning the position with Chisholm.

This is a conversation fans could be hearing more and more about as we head into September and the race for their franchise's 28th World Series heats up.

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