Ex-MLB Players Slam Alex Rodriguez for Yankees' Anthony Volpe Criticism

The New York Yankees are hoping Anthony Volpe can become the player they think he is in 2026, but recent comments from franchise legend Alex Rodriguez pointed to Volpe as an example of what's wrong with the team's offensive approach. Two former MLB players took him to task for that criticism, calling it weak.

On a recent episode of Foul Territory, retired MLB catcher Erik Kratz and retired MLB outfielder Kevin Pillar gave A-Rod a piece of their minds, appearing to hold him personally responsible for Volpe's potential.

"For A-Rod to say this without having spent a day in the cage with Anthony Volpe, I feel like it's kind of weak," Kratz said. "I feel like it's a weak comment because you want him to decrease his strikeouts. He went 167, 156 to 150. Do you want him to drop it by 50 strikeouts? Look across the game. Who's doing that? Nobody's doing that."

"To me, he's making small incremental changes that haven't happened to the extent that, maybe a player like A-Rod thinks they should be made. It's not quite as easy to naturally change your production at the plate as some people think it is."

Volpe's Make or Break Season

Oct 4, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe (11) doubles in the sixth inning in front of Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk (30) during game one of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Volpe may be running out of chances with a Yankees organization that can't get enough of him, slashing .212/ .272/ .391 in 2025 with 19 home runs and 72 RBIs. At times throughout the regular season, Volpe led the league in fielding errors and took a lot of heat amid the Yankees' struggles over the summer.

Pillar also held A-Rod's feet to the fire for his comments, in a critique that also seemed to misunderstand the crux of Rodriguez's argument.

"He's at a turning point in his career, and maybe a little bit of time away, he'll be able to fix this," Pillar said, via NJ.com. "But, a guy like A-Rod, if he can call Anthony Volpe, and he can fly out to Miami and go work with him [...], and if he believes that he’s somebody that could help him, people do that all the time."

“A-Rod could have been that guy for Anthony Volpe, but instead he decided to kinda publicly s--- on him. If I’m Anthony Volpe, I don’t know if I’m picking up that phone call.”

Sure, But A-Rod Was Right

Rodriguez's original comment, which included the insistence that Volpe is an "incredible young man" the organization loves, is nothing new. Rodriguez appeared to hit the nail on the head when he simply noted that playing Volpe all the time while he's struggling is a good example of what the Yankees did wrong in 2025, and what they can hope to improve on in the coming year.

To boot, it's quite possible that Volpe's poor performance in 2025 was amplified by a shoulder injury the organization was either not concerned about or kept under wraps, a shoulder injury which required surgery once the Yankees' season came to an end. Surely A-Rod could not have appeared and coached him through the torn labrum.

It's likely that these two former players misunderstood A-Rod's intention, which was to point out that the Yankees are not doing what is necessary to win. The criticism was of the organization, not of this particular young man, who has been blamed enough. The Yankees are responsible for putting him out there day after day to take all that flack.

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