New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe, often stoic amid fan scrutiny regarding his offensive performance, issued a rare public statement on Wednesday, directly addressing a recent report.
Volpe vehemently denied claims that he refused to play second base during his time in Triple-A this season, dismissing the assertion as "B.S." The initial report alleging his refusal has since been retracted.
“It couldn’t be further from the truth,” Volpe told reporters, as reported by the New York Post. “From my end, from my perspective, that’s been very clearly communicated to [manager Aaron Boone] and the team. I think it’s just kind of B.S., honestly, because I’d hope my teammates in here — I’ve played with them for three-plus years — I hope they know my character and that I’d literally do anything to help the team win. Literally anything.”
He continued, expressing frustration over the narrative the report attempted to create: “So, I think just the narrative and what it tries to say about me, I feel like I’m defending myself over something that literally didn’t happen.”
Addressing the Position Change Narrative
Volpe clarified that the Yankees had not discussed a potential position change with him until May, following José Caballero's return from the injured list. Caballero had been the team's starting shortstop at the beginning of the season.
Volpe had undergone surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder and had been rehabilitating with the explicit goal of returning as a shortstop. This focus continued during his rehab assignment. However, he was optioned to Triple-A on May 4 when he was cleared to come off the injured list, a decision influenced by Caballero's strong early-season performance.
During the offseason, Volpe remained in contact with the Yankees while his rehabilitation process limited him to taking ground balls, preventing him from throwing across the diamond. He stated that the consistent message from the organization was to prepare to play shortstop.
General Manager Brian Cashman had also affirmed at the season's outset that the intention was for Volpe to reclaim his role as the team's shortstop, but Caballero's unexpected success altered those plans.
Circumstances shifted again when Caballero himself sustained an injury, leading to Volpe's natural recall to the major league roster. At that point, Volpe had exclusively been playing shortstop for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre team.
“When I was getting optioned, I told Booney I’d play catcher, I’d do literally whatever the team needed,” Volpe elaborated. “And that’s the truth behind the story. That’s why the fact that what was said was said is catching me so off-guard because there was literally zero of that.”
Volpe concluded by stating he had "no problem" with the idea of a position change. “I want to be here, and I want to help the team win the World Series. That’s literally all I want,” he affirmed.
Manager Aaron Boone's Support and Career Overview
Manager Aaron Boone publicly supported Volpe’s statements, underscoring his player's commitment. “I know he would do anything. Volpe’s character and team-first [mindset] is beyond reproach. He’s as good as it gets,” Boone remarked. He further commended Volpe’s resilience: “He’s been through a lot, and he’s handled everything with toughness, with grace, with work ethic and with team-first in mind. He’s always been that way.”
Volpe, a first-round draft pick by the Yankees in 2019 out of Delbarton High School in New Jersey, has shown flashes of potential but has struggled with consistent performance over parts of four seasons in the majors.
Throughout his career, Volpe maintains a slash line of .224/.287/.375 with an OPS of .662 across 513 games. Defensively, he led Major League Baseball with 19 errors at shortstop last season. This year, he has committed three errors in 36 starts for the Yankees.
