New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe made a baffling play in the field during the ninth inning of the team’s game against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

With the Yankees down 1-0 while Boston had Jarren Duran on second and no outs, Ceddanne Rafaela hit a ground ball right at Volpe. Instead of throwing to first and setting down Rafaela with ease, though, he threw to second after Duran briefly left the base upon contact in hopes of retiring the lead runner.

Volpe’s throw didn’t get over to second in nearly enough time, however, and Rafaela beat out the play at first as well. Though the gaffe didn’t come back to haunt New York, as David Bednar worked out of the jam and held the Red Sox scoreless, it was yet another example of a head-scratching mistake by the Yankees’ former Gold Glover.

After the game, however, which ended in a shutout loss for New York, manager Aaron Boone defended Volpe when asked about the play.

“It’s obviously not the right play. It’s a little bit of a heady play, too,” Boone said. “He almost caught a guy off in scoring position there, and then he doesn’t come around to score anyway. He makes a really good play on the contact play. Are we going to really dive into that one a lot? I mean, I get it. It wasn’t an out, but it’s kind of a heads-up (play). Almost got a guy napping.”

The Yankees’ brass has stood behind Volpe time and time again amidst his subpar season, which is understandable in the sense that the former top prospect is likely still viewed as the club’s long-term answer at shortstop.

Aug 12, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe (11) throws the ball first base for an out during the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

At some point, though, the organization is going to run out of patience. Volpe’s never been much of a threat at the plate in the majors, so his .209/.276/.403 slash line, as mediocre as it may be, isn’t necessarily a major concern.

His mental mistakes and downward trajectory defensively, however, are huge red flags. Volpe had one of the most valuable gloves in the league last season, finishing with 13 Outs Above Average, but that number has dropped substantially to -7 in 2025, which ranks in the fourth percentile per Baseball Savant.

Boone’s safeguarding of Volpe is comprehensible, but the 24-year-old simply needs to play better moving forward in order to stop these conversations from being a regularity.

Make sure to bookmark Yankees On SI to get all your daily New York Yankees news, interviews, breakdowns and more!