New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe is recovering from an offseason shoulder surgery at the moment, following a disappointing season in New York that made him the butt of countless Yankee fans’ jokes. According to a recent mailbag from The Athletic, the Yankees are unlikely to move off their embattled shortstop for at least another season.

When asked how long it might take the Yankees to “give up on” Volpe, The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner gave them another year, given his potential.

“It depends on what your definition of ‘giving up’ is,” Kirschner wrote. “Does that mean releasing, benching or demoting him? Volpe is still relatively inexpensive for a shortstop because he’s entering his first year of arbitration. In 2024, he produced 3.5 fWAR, a good result, especially for a player not making much money.”

“That season, most of Volpe’s WAR was accumulated from his defense and base running. It’s fair at this point to wonder if he’ll become an average offensive player; there are not many positives to point to with his profile. But if he could get back to being a good defender, there’s a decent enough player in there to not totally give up on him.”

“[…] But we’re likely at least one more season away from the Yankees exploring external options.”

Volpe’s Reputation in New York

It’s hard to defend a player who is leading the league in fielding errors who is also putting up disappointing offensive numbers, which is why hardly anyone did. The responsibility obviously extends past Volpe, of course, as Yankees manager Aaron Boone insisted on playing him at the position over and over.

Meanwhile, the Yankees kept losing and Volpe, likely struggling with the mental game of being lambasted by the New York media to boot, kept missing. It led fans to further question Boone’s decision-making as a manager, suspicion that has extended into the offseason after another season fell short of a coveted World Series run.

Volpe, 24, is a product of the Yankees farm system, which may play a part in why the Yankees are so insistent on him. Their reasoning never seemed clear to fans, especially after his shoulder injury became public knowledge. Volpe’s injury reportedly plagued him beginning back in May, and whether his struggles were due to the injury or not, the Yankees could theoretically have tried trade deadline acquisition Jose Caballero at the position, and chose not to.

Now facing a spring without Volpe, Caballero and newly-healthy Oswaldo Cabrera are expected to be the leading contenders for the position, with Cabrera likely to return to a utility role. Volpe will, presumably, be their shortstop once he’s healthy again. This time, with more of a shoulder to bolster him, he will hopefully become the player the Yankees think he is.

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