Yankees Give Insight on Anthony Volpe's Return after Jose Caballero's Big Night

At some point, Anthony Volpe will return to the New York Yankees, and since Jose Caballero is surging, the question will be about his fit when he is activated.

Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe continued his rehab assignment with the Somerset Patriots at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater on April 17, 2026. | Alexander Lewis / MyCentralJersey / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The New York Yankees are rolling right now. The offense is back to what it was last year, when they led all of baseball with a 119 wRC+. They're a tick below that at 113, which is remarkable, considering a few weeks ago, they struggled to put up runs against the Athletics.

One reason for this offensive downpour is contributions from the bottom of the lineup. One person in particular is Jose Caballero, who struggled to find his footing early on but is now contributing in a big way. After a three-hit night, Caballero is hitting .280/.316/.430 with a 108 wRC+. He has three homers, 11 RBI, and 10 stolen bases.

Houston Astros starting pitcher Mike Burrows (50) reacts and New York Yankees shortstop Jose Caballero (72) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the fifth inning at Daikin Park. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Caballero has been especially productive since that Angels series, which, subsequently, was the time the Yankees took off. Since then, he's hitting .400/.426/.667 with a 204 wRC+ in 47 plate appearances.

This is why the mere mention of Anthony Volpe should be something that makes anybody invested in the Yankees feel a little queasy about what this means for the flow of the offense. It's not to say that the Yankees won't find their at-bats for Caballero. They likely will since he can play multiple positions at a high level. Still, his bat has been so good that it would be disappointing if he even missed out on one game when Volpe returns.

When will Volpe come back?

When asked about Volpe's status, manager Aaron Boone didn't get a concrete timetable. The wording he used was "nothing imminent" to reporters.

"He's still got to get these back-to-backs in, so nothing imminent there," Aaron Boone said, according to NJ.com's Randy Miller. "I just want him to continue to stack good days. That's how I'm looking at it."

Boone was then asked if he would return by the next homestand. The answer was much the same.

"I don't know," Boone said. "I mean, you never know. I don't want to say no, but I'm not necessarily anticipating it."

Volpe vs. Caballero

So far, Volpe has played in seven rehab games and has 23 plate appearances. He is hitting .273/.304/.409 with a home run and an RBI. He has also struck out seven times and walked just once.

What Volpe is doing well is stinging the ball when he does make contact. Volpe has an average exit velocity of 94.1 MPH, a 14.3% barrel rate, and a 71.4% hard-hit rate.

Whether that will translate to the big leagues when Volpe is finally up is another discussion entirely. For now, it will just have to be wait and see, and all Caballero can do is to continue crushing the ball himself.