Anthony Volpe’s 20-day rehab window has concluded, but he is not returning to the New York Yankees.
The Yankees instead announced Sunday afternoon that they’ve optioned Volpe from the 10-day injured list to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Nobody from the Yankees addressed the decision beyond the statement announcing the transaction.
Volpe joined the big league club in 2023 and, when healthy, has been New York’s starting shortstop since. He’s done so as a Gold Glove winner, but with middling results at the plate. With Volpe out of the lineup since the start of the 2026 season due to offseason shoulder surgery, José Caballero has thrived at the plate and in the field at Volpe’s position.
Yankees riding hot hand
The Yankees, meanwhile, have the AL’s best record at 23-11. And they’ve decided to not mess with what’s working. Caballero will continue to start at shortstop — for now, at least. And Volpe, a former first-round pick who previously considered as New York’s long-term answer at shortstop, will return to the minors at 25 years old.
This decision comes three weeks after general manager Brian Cashman said that “it’s always been the plan” for Volpe to return as New York’s starting shortstop at the conclusion of his rehab assignment. Cashman also said at the time that the decision would be “the manager’s call.”
Manager Aaron Boone alluded to the incoming change of plan with reporters prior to Sunday’s 11-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
Aaron Boone says they haven’t decided if they’ll call up Anthony Volpe tomorrow after his rehab ends:
“Caballero’s playing the heck out of the position and playing really well so that complicates it. Just deciding, what’s the role that exists right away?” pic.twitter.com/d2hzNJdhUh
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 3, 2026
“Caballero’s playing the heck out of the position and playing really well,” Boone said when asked about Volpe. “So that complicates it. So just deciding — what’s the role that exists right away? Those are things we’ve gotta continue to work through.”
In 32 games, Caballero’s slashed .259/.309/.411 with 4 home runs, 12 RBI and 12 stolen bases. He’s been one of the best defensive shortstops in MLB.
In his three MLB seasons, Volpe has slashed .222/.283/.391 with season-long averages of 17.3 home runs, 64 RBI and 23.3 stolen bases. In his best season at the plate, he hit .243. He hit .209 as a rookie and .212 in 2025 while playing with the partially torn labrum that prompted offseason surgery.
He won a Gold Glove as a rookie, but he led MLB with 19 errors in 2025. And he’s largely failed to deliver at the plate on the promise that came his selection as a first-round pick in 2019.
For his three-plus season MLB career Caballero’s a .231/.315/.348 hitter. Unless he’s in the midst of a breakout at 29 years old, his relatively hot start at the plate isn’t likely to be sustainable.
But he’s the hot hand right now for a hot Yankees team. And the Yankees are going to continue to ride that hand for the time being. Volpe’s future with the Yankees, meanwhile, is unclear.
