The New York Yankees crisis on the field has several names, but there is one in particular that stands out in the opinion of their fans: Anthony Volpe. The Bronx shortstop has earned the brunt of a bad image where his throws to first base have been horrible with an error of more than 12 feet over the initial bag, which has caused more opponents to get on base and sometimes generated runs against.
However, this situation has not been Volpe’s fault but rather the managers who have not handled his transition to MLB professionalism. Joe Maddon, former manager and representative in the major leagues, has not changed his mind: he still thinks the Yankees should have sent Anthony Volpe to the minors. “I think they probably should have,” he said during his segment on MLB Network on Monday. But as the team opted to leave him on the bench and go for a platoon with Jose Caballero, he now offers a pragmatic adjustment.
The way to improve Anthony Volpe’s game with the New York Yankees
The first step, according to Maddon, is to take it step by step in each of the plays that the shortstop plays. “Don’t put him out there with a ground ball pitcher right now. Put him with the fly ball pitchers at shortstop. Give him a break occasionally and let him gain confidence in each of those plays. Now he has enormous media and popular pressure,” he said, where the important thing is to think about the situation, relieving Volpe’s defensive pressure while keeping his bat in play.
That makes sense with the numbers we have. At 24 years old, Volpe still has potential: his hard-hit rate for 2025 is 42.6%, his barrel rate is 10.2%, his wOBA is .291 and his xwOBA is .315, all signs of a true talent up his sleeve. He has had electrifying moments, such as his recent 110 mph home run to tie the game and a wRC+ of 162 in his last 17 games.
How to eliminate equally clear deficiencies?
Defensively, Volpe has regressed drastically: he leads American League shortstops in errors and ranks in the 29th percentile in fielding run value, with -3 Outs Above Average. This has turned what was once an advantage into a disadvantage. So Maddon’s adjustment is smart. The Yankees should protect Volpe from situations that expose his defense against sliders, give him room to regain his rhythm with the glove and bat, and keep Caballero focused when ground balls come his way.
It’s not the miracle solution, but, as Maddon noted, both mentally and physically, Volpe is still within reach. “You can see it in his face. I think he’s going to be really good in the future,” Maddon said. And given the statistics behind the bat, that remains true, but right now it’s not the reality. At the start of the week, the New York Yankees begin a three-game series against the Washington Nationals, in an opportunity to defend their wild-card berth.
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