NEW YORK — Anthony Volpe wasn’t in the Yankees’ starting lineup Sunday, and in a possible sign that his status as the team’s everyday shortstop could be in question, manager Aaron Boone didn’t guarantee that Volpe, who is healthy, would start Monday either.
“We’ll see,” Boone told reporters before New York’s series finale against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
“I haven’t made any definitive (decisions). Let me kind of get through today and do all we can to win tonight and we’ll see heading into tomorrow.”
Boone did not guarantee that Volpe will be back in the starting lineup tomorrow. https://t.co/M6g55kBdr4
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Volpe didn’t appear in the Yankees’ clubhouse during the 50-minute period reporters are allowed access pregame, and the team didn’t take batting practice or perform defensive workouts on the field.
Boone cited two reasons he kept Volpe out of the starting lineup for the second time in about a week. He said that Volpe has been “scuffling a little bit offensively here over the last week or 10 days.” He added that the presence of recently acquired utility man José Caballero has also given the Yankees somebody else they feel comfortable starting at shortstop at times.
“Cabby gives you that real utility presence that can go play anywhere,” Boone said, “and especially go play short, the spark he provides. Feel like today was a good day for that.”
The Yankees (69-60) may also be getting desperate. They have lost eight of nine games this season against the Red Sox (71-59), who hold the top wild-card spot over them by two games. The Yankees hold the second wild-card position.
“We’re at the all-hands-on-deck portion of the season,” Boone said.
Entering Sunday, Volpe had just one hit, a double, over his previous 29 plate appearances.
While the Yankees may want to point to his 18 home runs and 65 RBIs, he’s also hit just .208 with a .274 on-base percentage and a .675 OPS. He’s been the second-worst offensive player in MLB among those with at least 500 plate appearances with an 86 wRC+ — a statistic that measures runs created and adjusts to league average (100).
Defensively, Volpe has 17 errors on the season, the second-most in the majors behind only the Cincinnati Reds’ Elly De La Cruz at 18. His +1 Defensive Runs Saved is 12th among qualified shortstops, two years after he won an American League Gold Glove as a rookie.
Yankees fans booed Volpe loudly after each of his at-bats Saturday. He grew up a lifelong Yankees fan in New York City and New Jersey before the Yankees drafted him in the first round out of Delbarton School in 2019.
Boone said he thinks Volpe has handled the booing “quite well.”
“I don’t think he’s overly affected by those things,” Boone said. “This is just a young player that, as you guys know, works his tail off and is super competitive and is trying to find that next level of consistency in his game offensively. I’ve said this before, I think he’s mentally very tough and totally wired to handle all the things that go with being a big leaguer in the city and being a young big leaguer that’s got a lot of expectations on him.”
How will Boone decide when Volpe is ready to play again?
“You just do,” the manager said. “You have conversations.”
(Photo: Ishika Samant / Getty Images)