Sports

Why I'm Skeptical About Aaron Boone Saying José Caballero Will Replace Anthony Volpe at Shortstop

By Joseph Randazzo Sports Illustrated

The New York Yankees have given Anthony Volpe what amounts to unlimited run in his first three seasons. That's with the results at the plate being less than spectacular.

In Volpe's first 1,886 plate appearances, he is hitting .212/.272/.391 with an 83 wRC+. To make matters worse, in 2025, his defense regressed, and the one thing that made him valuable made him even more of an eyesore in that lineup.

Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe continued his rehab assignment with the Somerset Patriots at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater on April 17, 2026. | Alexander Lewis / MyCentralJersey / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe continued his rehab assignment with the Somerset Patriots at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater on April 17, 2026. | Alexander Lewis / MyCentralJersey / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It felt like a breath of fresh air when the Yankees were forced to decide on Volpe and ultimately chose to option him to the minors and stick with José Caballero. Caballero wasn't lighting up the baseball world, but he has provided a league-average bat, hitting to a 105 wRC+ with sure-handed defense and stellar base running.

On top of that, Caballero's 1.1 WAR, according to FanGraphs, is Volpe's exact total from 2025. The season hasn't even made its way to June yet.

What's most unfortunate for Caballero, though, is that an injury has changed things. The Yankees were forced to put him on the IL after fracturing his finger in the ninth inning on Sunday when he slid headfirst into first base on a pickoff throw. With that, Volpe is back.

When Caballero is finally healthy

When asked whether Caballero would take the job back once he's healthy, Boone said that was the plan.

"He's played as well as anyone out there," Boone said, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. "So that would be my expectation."

The Yankees are saying one thing about Caballero, but until the day comes when he's healthy and the Yankees send Volpe back to Scranton, it's hard to take that stated plan at face value. The organization as a whole has made it quite apparent how fond it is of the 25-year-old shortstop despite his shortcomings and that they feel there is a lot more in the tank than what he has shown.

Caballero has been Volpe's first bit of competition since he was given the shortstop job on Opening Day in 2023, and it doesn't seem to have sparked anything new in him based on his rehab and minor league performance so far. Nothing has changed, and it feels like that could be the player the Yankees get when he's up in the big leagues.

Volpe in the minors

One of Volpe's more glaring gaffes came last week when Spencer Jones scorched a double with two outs. Volpe did not end up scoring from first, and it was reminiscent of his baserunning in the World Series, when Austin Wells hit a fly that bounced off the outfield wall, and Volpe didn't score from second. Both were similar mental errors.

His arm at shortstop hasn't been totally consistent. This one, earlier in his rehab, looked more like a lob.

Then there is this botched grounder, which looked a lot like some of those balls Volpe booted last year.

It would be unfair to only show the lowlights, though. That was a great play at short.

This throw was much better than that first one.

For Volpe, it will be less about making a heavy impact early and more about just being consistent. That's the one thing that's been so refreshing about José Caballero. Caballero makes the spectacular plays, but he also makes the easy ones with regularity.

Volpe booted so many balls last season that it felt like one would have to hold their breath anytime a ball came to him. It just seemed like the player who won a Gold Glove in his rookie year and had 13 Outs Above Average in 2024 had his body snatched.

What will be interesting to see is what happens when Caballero is healthy, and Volpe has played a string of games at short with few to no incidents. Will they go back to their shortstop, who has anchored that position all year in Volpe's absence, or go with the once-top prospect the Yankees still seemingly believe in a ton? All this talk about urgency will be put to the test there, because Caballero has done nothing to lose his job.

If Volpe does go back, it would be interesting to see how long he stays in the minors. At that point, it would be clear that they are close to moving on from him.



This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/yankees/onsi as Why I'm Skeptical About Aaron Boone Saying José Caballero Will Replace Anthony Volpe at Shortstop.

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This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 6:43 AM.

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