Yankees' Brian Cashman discusses possible demotion for highly touted rookie

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman sounds committed to letting rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe work through offensive struggles in the big leagues. 

"When we made the decision to go with Volpe, we stated it was a long-term commitment," Cashman told reporters ahead of Tuesday's home series opener against the Seattle Mariners, per Phillip Martinez of SNY. "Right now, we need our offense to do better but ultimately we’re not relying, per se, on one of the rookies to fill in a gap."  

Yankees manager Aaron Boone has repeatedly defended Volpe throughout the spring, and owner Hal Steinbrenner said last week the club was prepared to endure "the potential downs" related to the 22-year-old's slow start. The problem remains that Volpe hasn't yet rewarded Boone, Steinbrenner and Cashman with consistent offensive performances. Heading into Tuesday's MLB action, Volpe was slashing .189/.264/.350/.614 with nine home runs and 27 RBI across 72 games. 

"He’ll get his sea legs under him," Cashman added about Volpe. "He’s contributing to us in smaller ways but there is obviously a bigger portion of his game that we look forward to seeing as the season goes on. We’re not shying away from Anthony Volpe. We believe in him and we’re invested in him and we know there’s a payoff as long as we walk that tightrope with him." 

As individuals such as WFAN radio host Evan Roberts have pointed out, Oswald Peraza continues to perform well with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. According to Alexander Wilson of Empire Sports Media, Peraza started Tuesday hitting .292 with 11 home runs and 24 RBI at that level this season. Nevertheless, Cashman indicated exchanging Volpe for Peraza isn't on the table. 

"We always have that as a prerogative but that's not one we’re pursuing at all," Cashman said. "We’re very happy with Peraza. We have two high-end players, one is in the major league level and one is sitting there buying his time in Triple-A. It’s a great situation to be in especially when we move forward. We have nothing but full support for Peraza." 

If the Yankees continue to flounder offensively without injured slugger Aaron Judge, Cashman may have to at least consider pairing Peraza with Volpe in the major league lineup if the executive refuses to send the latter to the minors for some seasoning.