Anthony Volpe gets second chance as Yankees' week goes from bad to worse

New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe is getting another chance to salvage what at one point looked like a promising MLB career.

On Tuesday, the Yankees called up Volpe, 25, from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with Jose Caballero, who's performed admirably at shortstop through the first quarter of the 2026 season, headed to the 10-day injured list.

Volpe played in 153 games a season ago, slashing .212/.272/.391 while also becoming a liability on the diamond with an AL-high 19 errors, a sharp reversal of fortune for a player who just two seasons prior was a Gold Glove recipient and placed eighth in AL Rookie of the Year voting.

Maligned Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe gets second chance with Jose Caballero on injured list

The 2019 first-round pick was once pushed as a potential future cornerstone, with manager Aaron Boone standing by his side amid a disappointing 2025 season. In late August of last year, Boone was staunch in his support of the embattled shortstop, telling The Athletic, "First of all, he's a more productive offensive player than he gets credit for.

"Even though he hasn't come close to realizing what we expect and what he expects offensively ... he's still a frontline defensive player at a premium position that is offensively somewhat productive."

When Caballero surged into the starting shortstop role earlier this season, Boone downplayed what it meant for Volpe, who was limited this spring due to October 2025 shoulder surgery, beginning the season in the minors.

"We have to acknowledge, first, how well Jose has played ... It's really as simple as that. It doesn't change how we feel about Anthony or the kind of player we think he is and will be." (h/t MLB.com)

As confident as Boone has been in Volpe, it's time he shows it on the field. Based on his minor league performance, that's a tall task. In 18 games split between Triple-A and Double-A Somerset, Volpe produced a .221/.276/.294 slash line with one home run and 15 strikeouts. 

For him to be more than a seat warmer for Caballero, who's hitting .259 with four home runs and 13 stolen bases, Volpe must be better at the plate. His potential production will also be important for New York to snap a four-game losing streak brought on by lackluster production at the plate. 

The Yankees have a gaping hole at shortstop with Caballero nursing an injury. Volpe's return to the lineup doesn't offer much hope, although it could take one hot stretch for him to change the narrative.