See Aaron Judge throw from outfield after right flexor strain
Aaron Judge throws from the outfield after his right flexor strain during a workout at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 25, 2025.
NEW YORK – Anthony Volpe should return to the Yankees’ lineup Tuesday night, after a two-day “reset’’ according to Aaron Boone.
Hopefully, it’s “something that serves him well down the stretch,’’ said Boone, who also sees Jose Caballero “getting a lot of run in a lot of different spots’’ on the diamond.
“But I view Anthony as our shortstop,’’ Boone said before the Yankees’ 10-5 Bronx win Monday night against the playing-out-the-string Washington Nationals, tallying five in the ninth.
It’s also “go time,’’ as Boone has stated, when the baseball calendar and the club’s circumstances dictate certain decisions.
Volpe’s playing time falls into that category, and he’s not alone on the Yankees.
Austin Wells and Jasson Dominguez have already had their playing time diminished due to performance, and the contributions of Ben Rice and Trent Grisham.
So, is there really any guarantee that Volpe’s regular status might be in jeopardy here?
Starting at shortstop for a second straight game, Caballero went 1-for-4, had another good night defensively and used his speed and instincts to tag up and reach third base on a fly to center.
Aaron Judge followed with an RBI ground-rule double during the Yanks’ five-run fifth inning, where Cody Bellinger’s two-run single and Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s two-run homer – his third in two nights – knocked out Nats’ starter Brad Lord.
After the .207-hitting Wells caught the last three straight game against the Red Sox, going 1-for-9, Rice was back at catcher Monday night and belted the fourth homer in his last nine games, going 1-for-3 with two walks.
Boone sees Wells getting the bulk of catching starts down the stretch, but Rice’s importance to the lineup – he’s batting .305 with a 1.061 OPS over his last 17 games – requires his regular presence, at first base and catcher.
In the seventh, Dominguez’s three-run homer was his first since July 23, and he’d started just six of the Yankees’ last 14 games before Monday night.
As Volpe returns to the lineup, he’s in a 1-for-28 slide, batting .121 since Aug. 2 with a .413 OPS.
“He’s got a lot of ability, he’s shown a lot of flashes of that,’’ Boone said of Volpe’s offense in his third MLB season.
For a player who has already made several adjustments as a hitter at the big-league level, “the next thing…is the consistency part,” said Boone. “And limiting some of the peaks and valleys.’’