NEW YORK – Slumping shortstop Anthony Volpe landed on the Yankees’ bench for Sunday’s series finale against the Red Sox, and manager Aaron Boone did not commit to it being a one-day absence, saying, “We’ll see.”
Mired in a 1-for-28 skid and batting just .169 in August, Volpe has heard boos from the home crowd at Yankee Stadium this weekend. He committed his 17th error, which ranks second in the Majors, in the ninth inning of New York’s 12-1 loss, airmailing a throw to first base.
“It’s just been a scuffle offensively here over the past week, 10 days,” Boone said.
The Yankees have strongly defended the 24-year-old Volpe, who is batting .208/.274/.400 (85 OPS+) in 128 games, with 26 doubles, four triples, 18 homers, 65 RBIs and 15 stolen bases.
Sunday marked the first occasion that Boone has seemed open to offering more playing time at shortstop to José Caballero, who was acquired from the Rays on July 31.
Caballero is 8-for-25 (.320) with a double, two homers, four RBIs and six steals through his first 14 games in pinstripes. Overall this season, Caballero is batting .235/.338/.338 with four homers and 31 RBIs.
“Having Caballero now, Cabby gives you that real utility presence that can go play anywhere, and especially go play short with the spark he provides,” Boone said.
An American League Gold Glove Award winner as a rookie in 2023, Volpe said earlier this season that he has never experienced a run of defensive issues like this.
Volpe’s error on Saturday was his first since July 30, but there have been other questionable plays throughout that span, including an ill-advised throw to second base on a Ceddanne Rafaela grounder Friday that Boone said was “obviously not the right play, but it's a little bit of a heady play too.”
Boone said he believes Volpe has handled the booing, and his difficult season, “quite well.”
“I don’t think he’s overly affected by those things,” Boone said. “This is a young player that works his tail off and is super competitive, and is trying to find that next level of consistency in his game offensively.
“I think he’s very mentally tough and totally wired to handle all of the things that go with being a big leaguer in this city and being a young big leaguer that’s got a lot of expectations on him.”