Anthony Volpe will likely be starting at shortstop Tuesday, when he plays his first non-rehab-assignment minor league game in more than three years.
But as he begins a stint with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, with an uncertain end date after being optioned there Sunday night at the end of his rehab assignment, it bears watching if and when the Yankees will have him start to work at other positions to give him a better chance to eventually return to The Bronx.
“We’ll see,” manager Aaron Boone said Monday before the series finale against the Orioles. “Right now, he’s going to play shortstop. If we have those conversations as the days unfold, we’ll have those. But not right now.”
That left the door slightly more open than Boone had Sunday before the Yankees announced the decision to send Volpe to Triple-A, with José Caballero having done enough over the first 34 games to take over the starting shortstop job for the time being.
And while a downturn from Caballero could create an opening for Volpe to come back up, after he started 455 games at shortstop out of the Yankees’ 486 games from 2023-25, the complicating factor is that top prospect George Lombard Jr. is now at Triple-A after a promotion from Double-A.
Lombard, also a natural shortstop, has been sprinkling in some third base and (last year) second base, but it is hard to believe he will stop playing shortstop altogether. And when he does, where will that leave Volpe?
“George, like he’s done a lot, will bounce around,” Boone said. “We’ll keep revisiting this as we move through it. But George has already had a lot of experience playing third, second, short, all very well. It won’t be anything too different for George.”
Aaron Judge, who spoke to Volpe by phone for 30-40 minutes Sunday night, said the shortstop being optioned was “tough” and a “surprise,” but also acknowledged that Caballero playing well made it “kind of tough to move things around.” The captain hinted that Volpe becoming more versatile could work in his favor.
“I know he’s going to be more motivated than ever to come back here,” Judge said. “Anthony’s a big piece of what we’re doing here moving forward.
“I’m excited to see him come back here, if there’s a way to find — if it’s even him as a utility guy, anything, just to get himself back up here.”
Boone, who also spoke with Volpe on Sunday night, said the 25-year-old took the news “like a pro.”
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“I’m sure he’s not thrilled about it and doesn’t necessarily love that idea, because he’s obviously worked really hard to go through this [rehab from shoulder surgery],” Boone said. “Going into this, we expected him to be, once his rehab was up, to be here and playing. So that’s obviously changed over the last few weeks. But I think there’s part of him that gets it too. Anthony’s a pro and I have no doubt he’ll handle it in the best way possible.”
Boone, who has been one of Volpe’s biggest supporters throughout his big league career, insisted that the decision to option him does not change how the organization feels about him now or in the future.
“But in this moment of time, we felt like this was absolutely the right thing to do,” Boone said. “Hopefully this gives him even some more time to accumulate those everyday reps and things like that and we’ll keep evaluating.”
Ben Rice was out of the lineup Monday after leaving Sunday’s game with a left hand contusion.
The first baseman was “still sore,” Boone said, and felt like he could not get his best swing off. But the Yankees were hoping to get him back in the lineup in the coming days.
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