Anthony Volpe Has One Way to Return to Yankees
It's never easy when an organization has to send down one of its top prospects, but it didn't seem like that was too difficult of a decision for the New York Yankees. The Yankees have been the best team in Major League Baseball to start the season outside of the Atlanta Braves, and they deserve a lot of credit for what they've done on both sides of the ball, despite the injuries. One of the biggest questions coming into the year was what the Yankees were going to do at shortstop with Anthony Volpe sidelined, and they answered that by giving Jose Caballero the keys to the position.
Not only did Caballero get an opportunity to show whether he's good enough to play at the highest level at Yankee Stadium and be the shortstop of a storied organization, but he's done it in a very impressive way. All the utility guy has done is go out there and play ball at a very high level, and as a result, Volpe is without a job. Speaking to reporters about that, it doesn't sound like the Yankees are very committed to bringing him back up anytime in the near future.
“Last year, (Trent) Grisham was the guy that came up out of nowhere,” Cashman said , per NJ. com. “A couple of years ago, I waiver-claimed Weaver and then he became our closer in 2024.
You let the games play out and you honor the performance when warranted. “Ultimately, when the rehab was up, it wasn’t anything Anthony Volpe was doing wrong, it was what (Caballero) was doing that led to that decision. ” Unfortunately for the young Yankees shortstop, who was optioned to Triple-A, there really isn't much that he can do now outside of going out there and doing what's needed in Triple-A.
If he does well enough to warrant coming back up, the Yankees are never going to keep talented players down there who can help them out. This is on Volpe at the end of the day, as he just didn't do enough to suggest playing long-term in this organization. “As of right now, he’s playing shortstop every day,” he said, but added: “it’s always a fluid situation.