Aaron Boone on Yankees’ pursuit of free agent Cody Bellinger
During the MLB Winter Meetings, Yankees manager Aaron Boone addressed issues about the makeup of the 2026 team, including the pursuit of Cody Bellinger.
If they cleared the frost at Yankee Stadium and fielded a team, Jose Caballero is today’s Yankees shortstop.
The somewhat embattled, incumbent shortstop Anthony Volpe’s rehab from right labrum surgery is expected to prevent him from joining the Yankees lineup until May.
That currently provides a runway for Caballero to establish himself at short.
Or not.
“Hey, the game…dictates who should and shouldn’t be playing over the course of time,’’ Yankees GM Brian Cashman said at last week’s MLB Winter Meetings.
But at this wintry juncture, Cashman has “no idea where things will go’’ in spring, and “I still believe everything that we felt about (Volpe) prior to his surgery.’’
That belief is all about Volpe’s ability to raise his offensive profile, develop that elusive consistency and anchor a championship infield.
“That he’s going to be a good player for us’’ is manager Aaron Boone’s expectation for Volpe, two months out from surgery and two months away from baseball activity.
Anthony Volpe’s road back to Yankees lineup
Volpe is due to resume swinging a bat in mid-February, when he’ll still be restricted to full-go baseball activities.
As part of his right shoulder recovery, Volpe won’t be allowed to make diving plays until mid-April as he builds back his throwing-arm strength.
That moves Caballero atop the club’s shortstop depth chart, and it might have been an interesting spring training competition if Volpe hadn’t required offseason surgery.
“People continue to earn their playing time or they don’t,’’ said Cashman, speaking generally of the club’s depth.
“And in some cases, if you don’t have alternatives, somebody stays in that lane continuing to play unless you import something else,’’ Cashman said. “But if it’s competition of the guys on the club, may the best man win and keep it.’’
Jose Caballero moves up Yankees’ depth chart
Cashman added Caballero, 29, at last summer’s MLB trade deadline, providing some spark and infield versatility as well as speed off the bench.
In a combined 126 games with the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays in 2025, Caballero led the AL in stolen bases (49) for the second straight year.
“Do I believe in Anthony Volpe? The answer is yes,’’ said Cashman. “Do I believe Caballero has got a lot of talent? The answer is yes.’’
Cashman referenced center fielder Trent Grisham’s unexpected ascent in 2025, which contributed to Jasson Dominguez’s loss of playing time.
“(Grisham) was supposed to be a role player who became a prominent impact player for us,’’ said Cashman. “You can never predict somebody’s journey, somebody’s impact.’’
Anthony Volpe’s next challenge with Yankees
Once Volpe is healthy, Boone identified the next challenge as building a better offensive player.
But that path isn’t yet defined.
“Ultimately, we want to try and get more production out of him, whatever that looks like,’’ said Boone, whether it’s through more consistent power or a better on-base percentage.
Through his first three seasons, Volpe’s below MLB average OPS-plus (84), .283 on-base percentage and high strikeout totals are not a sustainable big-league model.
Especially when it’s accompanied by a league-high 19 errors last season, though Cashman feels that Volpe’s overall performance was – to some degree – compromised by the shoulder issue.
Volpe sustained the initial injury while making a defensive play May 3, requiring multiple cortisone shots and eventually a procedure that revealed more damage than MRIs showed.
As the Yankees’ early summer stumble dropped them out of first place, Volpe’s defensive struggles and empty at-bats led to booing in the Bronx.
“He’s really disciplined, really competitive. So, I don’t think it has a drastic impact on him frankly,” said Boone. “That said, he is human… but I don’t think he’s overly affected by the outside noise.”