Anthony Volpe had three full years to establish himself as the long-term answer for the New York Yankees at shortstop. Now, he has to hope he gets the keys handed back to him.
As he recovers from offseason surgery on his left shoulder, Volpe is expected to miss at least the first month of the regular season. Trade deadline acquisition José Caballero is expected to start in Volpe’s place, and if he performs better than Volpe did on average throughout those three years, who’s to say the Yankees wouldn’t continue to roll with the 29-year-old speedster?
Plus, as Yankees insider Joel Sherman of the New York Post pointed out on Tuesday, New York may have added incentive to not only take Volpe’s job away, but to send him to Triple-A for more than just a rehab assignment.
As Sherman pointed out, if the Yankees feel confident they don’t need Volpe back quickly, they could option him to the minors for the first time in his career and gain an extra year of service time, which could create flexibility on multiple fronts.
“If Caballero is playing well, could the Yankees actually send Volpe to the minors upon his activation from the IL?” Sherman proposed.
“Volpe currently would be a free agent after the 2028 season. But if he spends even 20 days in the minors, the earliest he could be a free agent is after the 2029 campaign. That matters to his salaries moving forward. It also could impact his trade value if the Yankees go that way because teams are always looking to have more control years when they obtain a player.”
Last season, Volpe set career-lows in on-base percentage and stolen bases, and he led the American League with 19 errors. But his .663 OPS was one point higher than his career average, and the streaky nature of his offense was almost exactly the same as it had been in seasons past.
Volpe might well deserve one more chance to prove he can deliver on his first-round pick and top prospect promise. But he has to be keenly aware that for the first time since his debut almost three years ago, he doesn’t have his own fate completely in his grasp.
More MLB: Yankees’ Roster Crunch Puts Jasson DomÃnguez in Jeopardy: Insider