Yankees' Anthony Volpe Decision Is a Stunning About-Face

The Yankees did what once would have been unthinkable, optioning Volpe to the minors. Here's why it was both a shocking move—and the right one.

A move down to the minors could be good for Volpe. | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

The Yankees have done what once would have been inconceivable, as the club on Sunday reinstated shortstop Anthony Volpe from the 10-day injured list, then optioned the former top prospect to Triple-A on the heels of his rehab assignment.

While the move says less about Volpe’s future than you might think (more on that later), it’s nothing less than a stunning organizational about-face, given Yankee rhetoric from the past few years, as well as the trajectory Volpe himself seemed to be on.

Once a top-10 prospect in all of baseball and the crown jewel of the Yankees’ farm system, Volpe spent one season at the Single-A level before jumping up to Double-A Somerset in 2022, where he flashed the leather and some pop in his bat to the tune of an .820 OPS and 44 stolen bases. The then-21-year-old made the briefest of pit stops at Triple-A—just 22 games—before he went on to beat out fellow top prospect Oswald Peraza for the starting shortstop job the following spring.

He seemed destined for stardom, especially when you factored in the perfect pinstriped symmetry that he grew up a lifelong Yankees fan and idolized Derek Jeter, the last great Yankees shortstop.

Things didn’t quite play out that way. There have been flashes for sure, such as when Volpe authored a 20-20 season and won an American League Gold Glove award in his rookie year, or when he was one of the best hitters during a 2024 postseason that saw the Yankees advance to their first World Series since 2009.

But a dismal 2025 season that saw Volpe labor through a partially torn labrum he suffered last May had fans reaching for the proverbial pitchforks and torches when it came to discourse about Volpe, verbal vitriol that was met with vicious defense from Yankees brass.

So protective of Volpe were manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman that one could have mistaken the young shortstop for a family member. Two winters ago, Cashman got into a verbal sparring match with a reporter over the Yankees’ seeming lack of big-league hitting production from their farm system, with the longtime executive pointing to Volpe as someone who could prove the reporter wrong. Just last winter on the heels of a year that saw Volpe produce a .663 OPS and career-worst 19 errors in the field, Boone and Cashman were in lockstep that he would remain the club’s starting shortstop in 2026, even after a trade deadline deal that ushered in competition in the form of José Caballero.

Here’s the harsh truth about Volpe. For all that he brings to the table with his glove, speed and athleticism, he’s not been a capable big-league hitter for three seasons now. Since he made his major-league debut in 2023, he’s produced an 85 wRC+, among the 30 worst hitters during that span, and an 83 OPS+, meaning he was 17% worse than an average hitter would have been.

Caballero, meanwhile, has been productive since his acquisition at last summer’s trade deadline. He posted an .820 OPS and played stellar defense for the Yankees in the heat of a division race down the stretch last year. Since mid-April, Caballero is batting .319 with just a 16% strikeout rate, and he’s been one of the very best defensive shortstops in the game.

Three weeks ago, Cashman told reporters that Volpe returning as the starter at short was “always the plan,” but deferred to Boone. Boone on Sunday sounded like someone who was having serious doubts about the plan still being the plan.

“We'll see,” Boone said. “We'll continue to talk about that. Again, José's played himself into and earned himself more playing time. I love the idea of José being in that kind of 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, been a real spark for us offensively, especially after kind of getting off to a slow start probably the first 10 days, two weeks of the season. He's really picked that up and been in the middle of us winning games.”

On Sunday evening, the Yankees flipped the script and sent Volpe down to the minors.

Why Anthony Volpe being optioned to Triple-A is a good thing for him—and the Yankees

Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe during his rehab assignment with the Somerset Patriots. | Alexander Lewis / MyCentralJersey / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The move is a smart one for both Volpe’s future, and the Yankees’. Should Volpe spend 20 days or more in the minors, his free agency will be delayed another year until the conclusion of the 2029 season. This would give New York an additional year of club control on the young shortstop, making him an appealing part of the Yankees’ long-term middle infield plans, given that starting second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. is a free agent after this season.

In the unlikely event that the Yankees opt to trade Volpe one day, the additional year of club control would prove to be an enticing sweetener in any deal.

The move also makes sense for Volpe, whose brief, 22-game stint in Triple-A back in 2022 was perhaps a bit too brief, given the 30.3% strikeout rate and .718 OPS he produced for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre affiliate. Volpe, still just 25 years old, might benefit from the regular playing time he’ll see in Triple-A—and might not have seen at the big-league level currently. Plus, there’s a chance Volpe is able to take his move back down to the minors and uses it as fuel for his fire.

It’s very likely that the Yankees will need Volpe at some point or another in 2026. Optioning him to Triple-A gives the club the best chance at getting the best version of Volpe when that time comes.

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