Yankees' Aaron Boone discusses possible demotion for scuffling SS

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone isn't yet considering demoting Anthony Volpe to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders amid the rookie shortstop's ongoing struggles at the plate. 

"What I’m seeing, in my opinion, is a guy that is still helping us win games," Boone said about Volpe during Tuesday's edition of the "Talkin' Yanks'" podcast, as shared by John Healy of Audacy. "I’m confident [he] will continue to be in the middle of helping us to win games. As long as I continue to see that and continue to see him deal with the ups and downs the way you’d hope, I feel a lot of confidence with him still." 

Boone offered similar comments about Volpe last month, but the 22-year-old hasn't yet rewarded the skipper with his performance. Heading into Tuesday's matchup at the New York Mets, Volpe was slashing .186/.260/.345/.605 with nine home runs and 26 RBI across 67 games.

As recently as Tuesday morning, individuals such as Max Goodman of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com suggested the Yankees need to send Volpe to Triple-A as Oswald Peraza continues to play well in the minors. Peraza, who lost the big league starting gig to Volpe ahead of Opening Day, is batting .311 with 10 home runs and 21 RBI as a member of the RailRiders.

Despite all of that, Boone insisted that Volpe "is completely equipped" to turn things around without requiring even a brief stint in Triple-A.

"I don’t think anything has changed from a confidence standpoint," Boone added about Volpe. "He’s human so I’m sure he feels the – trying to make adjustments and going through struggles. But again, as much as there was understandable buzz around it in spring training and the excitement of it all, one of the main reasons we decided it was time because we totally felt he was totally equipped to handle inevitable growing pains and adversity, and he has shown he has been able to handle that."

Goodman mentioned that Volpe's overall numbers have worsened over the past several months. Volpe hit .217 for March and April but is currently at a woeful .120 for June. If that trend continues, allowing Volpe to flounder against top-tier pitching could ultimately do everyone involved more harm than good.