Yankees Make Anthony Volpe-Jose Caballero Position Change

Although the Yankees previously expressed their confidence in Caballero as their starting shortstop, encouraging play from Volpe created a desire for them to utilize both players. Fortunately, Caballero has established himself as a defensive asset at multiple positions, which makes it much easier for the Yankees to give him consistent playing time.

Caballero is a natural shortstop, and the numbers back that up with 10 Defensive Runs Saved and 10 Outs Above Average at the position through four MLB seasons. But the 29-year-old has seen time at second base, third base, and even the outfield. What makes this far more noteworthy is that Caballero can play these positions very well; he has 9 DRS and 6 OAA over 787.1 innings at second, 4 DRS and 5 OAA over 377.0 innings at third, and 6 DRS and 2 OAA over 210.2 innings in right field.

As for Volpe, he is also a natural shortstop. Outside of a rough 2025 (which could be attributed to a shoulder injury that required offseason surgery), he has been great in the field with 21 DRS and 15 OAA over his first two major league seasons, even winning the Gold Glove Award at shortstop as a rookie. Nonetheless, the Yankees are planning to have Volpe take reps at second base on days where he's not in the starting lineup.

Both players have taken advantage of their respective opportunities thus far. Caballero was out for 10 days with a fracture in his right middle finger, but has been productive in an otherwise struggling bottom of the Yankee lineup by hitting .261/.318/.394 with 11 extra-base hits and 13 stolen bases in 19 attempts. Volpe, who began the season on the injured list recovering from the aforementioned shoulder surgery, is only hitting .217 but has a .400 on-base percentage in 30 plate appearances.

Third base is an area of need for the Yankees, as regular starter Ryan McMahon is hitting just .190 with a .562 OPS. Second base could also be a position of need in the future, as Jazz Chisholm Jr. is set to become a free agent at the end of the year; Chisholm has broken out of a season-opening slump by hitting .432 since May 13, so third base is the more pressing need right now.

The Yankees will look to find success with both Caballero and Volpe on the left side of the infield as they battle the Royals in Kauffman Stadium. First pitch is at 3:40 PM ET, with Will Warren facing Michael Wacha.