The Yankees Need More from Anthony Volpe

At some point, players tell you who they are. Yes, we see players improve. Some have random big years (ahem, Trent Grisham) and some truly turn it around, but you kind of know a ceiling when you see one.

We now have a 472-game and 1,886-plate appearance sample, and I think we know Volpe is not going to be what the Yankees had hoped.

That’s not to say he’s a bad player or finished developing, but I think the star potential is out of the equation. The lack of improvement has been alarming.

Each of his first three seasons has come with an xwOBA of .275 or worse against breaking balls and off-speed pitches. Last season, he cut down on chasing pitches out of the zone, but didn’t drastically improve his walk rate and made less contact on pitches in the zone.

He had most of his production, a .342 xwOBA and 14 home runs, on fastballs, but will likely start to see fewer and fewer until he can prove handling breaking balls and off-speed pitches is possible.

Players of Volpe’s pedigree need to show more improvement year over year. The shoulder injury, which happened in May and led to offseason surgery, does play a role in this discussion. It’s very likely that the injury did cause issues and a dip in production.

Now, you are looking at an offseason with rehab and recovery, which could also impact his production in 2026. We know from cases of prior shoulder injuries that the first year back often comes with another dip in production. If that’s the case, the Yankees are in trouble.

Not to mention, Volpe’s defense at short took a major step back in 2025, no matter which metric you look to. Usually, a competitive team like the Yankees could stomach an 87 wRC+, 20/20 potential, good defender at short. For decades, teams have been willing to accept below-average offense at the position, but his defensive issues make that more difficult.

The Yankees Might Be Changing

I would typically say the Yankees could buy enough in free agency to mask the issue and give Volpe time to, hopefully, blossom into a more impactful player. But, the Yankees are looking less like the so-called Evil Empire they used to be.

“Everyone wants to talk about revenues. They need to talk about our expenses, including $100 million expense to the city of New York,” owner Hal Steinbrenner said in late November. That’s the sort of quotation that you usually do not hear out of New York, a team that has long flexed its muscles and money in free agency.

Steinbrenner went on to recover by adding some lines about certain scenarios coming up and his willingness to spend if it makes sense, but I think it’s clear he would like to see the payroll drop.

If that’s the case, the pressure on Volpe to improve is that much greater. If the Yankees are not going to fill their needs via free agency, at least not to their traditional levels, internal is the next reasonable path to improvement.

Aaron Judge is not getting any younger. Giancarlo Stanton is 36 years old. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is nearing free agency. The rotation has taken blow after blow, struggling to stay healthy.

Bottom line, the Yankees cannot afford for Volpe to be nothing more than a solid shortstop. Especially if Ryan McMahon is already holding down the defense-first, glove guy roster spot at the less traditional position of third base.

The Yankees need Volpe to reach a new level. To become something more. To be one of their answers to what this lineup will look like in the next year, three years, and five years. Although he’s only 24, time is running out. Patience is short in New York.

Final Thoughts

Time will tell what Volpe’s ultimate fate is in the Bronx. There’s still time for him to turn it around, but the leash has shortened. Hell, some may say José Caballero is a better option, and he’s sitting right there in the same clubhouse.

How the Yankees operate over the next couple of years, as this era of Yankees baseball ages, will tell us a lot. Are they now going to be patient with prospects and roll the dice, hoping they develop into useful pieces? Or, will the pressure from a 16-year championship drought, a lifetime to Yankees fans, force the hand of ownership to return to their bully ways?