NEW YORK — With José Caballero coming off the injured list and starting at shortstop on Friday, Aaron Boone revealed that Anthony Volpe will start to work out at second base on the days that he’s not playing.
“He may still end up being all at shortstop,” Boone said of Volpe, the New York Yankees’ nearly-unchallenged starting shortstop from 2023-2025. “On the days he’s playing shortstop, I may move Cabby around, but I want [Volpe] to at least get some work over there and see that side of the field too.”
Volpe has never played second base in the big leagues, but he did spend some time there as a minor leaguer in 2021, his second professional season. He logged 18 innings at the position, nine at Single-A and nine at High-A. Volpe also played some second base in spring training in 2023 when he and Oswald Peraza were competing for the Yankees’ starting shortstop job.
While it’s been years since Volpe has tried the position, he said he doesn’t think it will take him a long time to get game-ready.
“I’m ready to go,” said Volpe, who won a Gold Glove at short in 2024. “Whatever the team needs.”
While Volpe is still expected to play some shortstop — Boone said “we’ll see” when asked who will get the bulk of the starts there — trying second base makes sense for the player and the organization in the short- and long-term.
Caballero, back from a broken right middle finger, is incredibly versatile, but he led all shortstops with eight Defensive Runs Saved at the time of his injury. The speedster was also swinging a hot bat, hitting .305 with an .860 OPS over 28 games prior to his IL stint.
Boone has said that performance earned Caballero more starts at short, and the career utilityman has said that playing one position regularly helps him.
Volpe, meanwhile, has been a below league-average hitter through his first three seasons, and he endured a disastrous defensive campaign in 2025 while playing through a torn labrum for most of the year. Volpe’s recovery from that injury and ensuing offseason surgery created an opening for Caballero to seize the shortstop job at the start of this season, and the Yankees initially optioned Volpe to Triple-A when his rehab assignment ended.
But Volpe, staunchly defended by Boone and Brian Cashman throughout his career, has played relatively well over an incredibly small sample since being promoted when Caballero got hurt. Adding some second base to his tool belt could get him additional playing time now that Caballero is back, especially with starting second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. having a poor season.
Boone noted that the Yankees are going to face some lefties and reverse splits righties — including Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan and Kansas City’s Michael Wacha and Noah Cameron — over the coming days. Caballero and Volpe are right-handed hitters, while Chisholm is a lefty.
“I’ve talked to both guys,” Boone said, referring to Caballero and Volpe. “Both guys are going to play. Cabby’s versatility comes into play now again with Anthony here, so we’ll just see. These things have a way of working themselves out. It’s a good situation to be in because we have two players that we feel like can play vital roles in us winning games. As I’ve told them each, it’s not going to be the perfect scenario every single day.
“‘You may like or not like a decision on a given day, but at the end of the day, we’re all working for the same thing.’”
While Boone is more focused on the here and now, taking to second base could also improve Volpe’s odds of having a future in pinstripes.
Chisholm is going to be a free agent after the season, and it’s hard to see the Yankees investing significant money in the position when they have a cost-effective player like Volpe, 25 and in his first season of arbitration eligibility, under control.
And while Caballero is looking to cement himself at short in the present, top prospect George Lombard Jr. is waiting in the wings at Triple-A. Cashman has said that the 20-year-old is already capable of playing big league defense; Lombard is slick with the glove and has a stronger arm than Volpe.
He may be the best defensive shortstop in the organization, though Lombard has also spent some time at second and third.
Third is “probably” not an option for Volpe at this time, Boone said. While Volpe did man the hot corner as a minor leaguer, too, he’ll just focus on second and short, and making the most of whatever opportunities come his way.
“I don’t write the lineup, so I’m ready to go,” Volpe said. “I’m gonna put my work in, and I want to help the team win.”
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