MIAMI, FL – AUGUST 02: Anthony Volpe #11 of the New York Yankees looks on from the dugout prior to the game between the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park on Saturday, August 2, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Lucas Casel/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
MLB Photos via Getty Images
The New York Yankees started this past season as one of the best teams in the American League, but a slump in the standings after the All-Star break prompted some changes.
The team brought in several relievers and infielders at the trade deadline as it became clear that the roster as constructed would have little chance of competing for a World Series championship. And now one of those additions is set to change the role of shortstop Anthony Volpe for next year.
Volpe regressed offensively and defensively this past season and the Yankees acquired utility man Jose Caballero from the Tampa Bay Rays to help out. Caballero provided some key baserunning and defense when filling in at shortstop for the Yankees and now manager Aaron Boone has confirmed that he’s poised to take over some of Volpe’s responsibility in the starting role moving forward.
“Would you be more inclined after this season to give (Volpe) days off and not run him out there?” James O’Brien asked Boone during a recent “Talkin’ Yanks” segment published on YouTube.
“Oh yeah,” Boone responded. “I feel like with Caballero, we’re in much better position there that we have like a premium guy over there that can handle the position and do things. So yeah.”
After undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, Volpe is set to start next year in the minors before working his way back to the big-league club. But Boone’s confirmation that Caballero could take starting reps at shortstop even when he’s healthy was a significant admission that Volpe is losing his grip on the franchise shortstop role.
“Yeah, Caballero is a really good player to have,” Boone added during the segment. “He (plays the) game within the game really well. Glad we got him and he really can defend a lot of places.”
After a Gold Glove Award winning rookie season, Volpe was anointed as the heir to Derek Jeter as the Yankees shortstop of the future. But two straight seasons of concerning steps back both defensively and offensively have called that future into doubt.
Boone’s acknowledgement that Volpe could benefit from more time off and that Caballero could be a better option at shortstop more regularly was particularly surprising because the manager has been so defensive up to that point. During his end-of-season press conference, the last time Boone spoke publicly about Volpe’s role, his tone was notably different.
“The reality is, he’s a really talented player that works his butt off, that has tremendous makeup, tremendous toughness, and is a great person in our room, and I’m going to bet on that,” Boone said of Volpe, per Bryan Hoch and David Adler of MLB.com.
But now it seems like that bet is yielding to the reality that Volpe could benefit from a change in his role.