Anthony Volpe Isn't a Player

Aaron Boone has consistently defended Anthony Volpe throughout his struggles as a Yankee. But, he's not given us anything to chew on as a player.

I listen to New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone’s postgame interviews religiously because it is like watching a substitute teacher explain to the principal why two kids had to be sent to the nurse’s office. I have seen three Yankee managers in my lifetime, and each one had an unique way of doing the postgame. Joe Torre, who I am barely old enough to remember what he did during the postgames always struck me as a confident soul, one who trusted his players, trusted his relief pitchers; every season he would talk about how “special of a group his players” were. Even when Torre needed to push players, express disappointment with players, he seemed like he was being gracious about it; the less gregarious, more uptight Joe Girardi relied on personal cliches like “it’s not what you want”, and banal platitudes in order to get through the part of the gig that he knew he was awkward at; Boone, who was in his mid forty’s when he was first hired, often goes with Torre’s route. In fact, part of why Boone was hired without managerial experience was because he was supposed to usher in a fresh, cool, lightly provocative era of Yankees baseball, an era of modern communication with the modern ballplayer. In the same way, Torre was a calm bridge between crazed management, the Yankees envisioned that for Boone. The problem with that, is, he has not been blessed with Torre’s roster, or Torre’s ability to be decisive about which players he trusts.

While talking about last night’s painful loss in which the Yankees made two critical errors en route to a 4-1 loss to the first place Toronto Blue Jays, Aaron Boone defended his team again. When asked about Anthony Volpe, the young shortstop who made one of those errors last night, Boone acted as his lawyer. “We’re talking about a few extra errors. I get it — that’s a separator of when he wins a gold glove and when he’s not. He’s still a top shortstop, he hasn’t made a few plays that have generated a lot of noise”, explained Boone. “He’s still making rangey plays, he’s still making a lot of plays, he just hasn’t been as consistent as he has in his first two years.”

Boone’s words creeped on the timeline after the loss last night, and it should be noted that the subject of Anthony Volpe is not an easy one to talk about. Since the Yankees opted not to sign All-Star shortstops like Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, and Marcus Semien in order to let Volpe start at shortstop, increased pressure is on the Tri-state area-raised Volpe to show fans why the front office chose not go after those star players. To make matters worse, Seager went on to win World Series MVP for the Texas Rangers.

There’s been flashes — the two home run against the Braves over the weekend, the 2024 postseason besides the fifth inning of Game 5, his mostly solid rookie season — but the Yankees have not gotten the solid starter that they envisioned when they gave him the job out of spring training in 2023. He’s always struggled to hit consistently. Brian Cashman claimed it was “sea legs” from not playing AAA. Volpe defenders, though, at least had one undeniable fact in their chamber: he was a great defensive player. This year, however, he has not been. Per Jomboy (despite my issues with the frat bro identity of that podcast, they do know the game very well), Volpe leads the league in inaccurate throws; his OAA, which is used to quantify how many outs a fielder has saved, is -3. His 13 errors lead the American League.

Defense is complicated in baseball, because oftentimes we are looking at defenders who make all of the plays but do not grade well with analytic statistics. Gio Urshela, for example, was a favorite of mine; he did not grade well analytically. Derek Jeter, for example, is perhaps the most famous example of this: the eye test showed Jeter as undoubtedly lacking in range, but excellent at making plays that only a guy with his elite athleticism could make. Unfortunately for Jeter defenders, this writer included, range is also important; in fact, it is practically the main idea of the shortstop position. (It did not help that apparently Jeter was often out of position fundamentally, which makes his ability to make plays even more astonishing). Volpe has the range, but he’s lacking in the eye test. His arm, which is weaker than a verse from Jack Harlow, has prevented the Yankees from getting outs; Paul Goldschmidt has also saved him numerous times with his ability to pick the ball off the dirt.

Volpe has turned easy outs into balls in the dirt, or booted balls off of his glove, resulting in extra baserunners and pitching having to make extra pitches. It is not a good recipe for a team that wants to contend for titles. Overall, the Yankees have coddled him, unlike how tough they were on Gleyber Torres, who is now an all-star for the Detroit Tigers. Last season, Boone argued with Jomboy and Jake of the Talkin’ Yanks podcast about Volpe, passionately claiming Volpe as “a player”, both at the plate and in the field. This season has been more of the same defense, despite him being one of the few reasons for the team’s swoon since the month of June. If Volpe is on trial for competency, then Boone is his lawyer; if Volpe is given any more rope, then the Yankees would seem like they’re in debt to him.

I also do not know what Volpe is proficient at. I do not know what kind of player he aims to be. I can forgive advanced numbers, disjointed play if I understand what someone is good at. For years, I didn’t care about Jeter’s range because that man could hit a baseball even if he was giving out gift baskets to the crowd. Decent left handed batters like Didi Gregorius and Brett Gardner made great use of the short porch in right field. Volpe, however, has not shown me what kind of player he would be even throughout his struggles. All he is right now, to me, is confused about what kind of player he is. He’s not a good hitter, since pitchers attack him with ease, and he struggles to hit fastballs that he ought to crush. He’s not hitting for contact, not hitting for power either. He’s not a player without a country, a player without a profile.

The emergence of Volpe would have a far-reaching purpose for the Yankees. As Jeter showed, there is nothing cooler, better than having a great shortstop for many years. It would shore up the middle of the infield and give the front office the ability to extend him on the cheap. Jazz Chisholm looks like a second baseman for the future, why hasn't Volpe been able to look like the shortstop for the future? Why have the Yankees doubled down on a player that looks like a quadruple-A player and not a MLB player? These are questions that have to be answered in the offseason. In the meantime, it would not be out of the question for the Yankees to make a move to spell Volpe at times, in case his left shoulder is so banged up that it is preventing him from throwing accurately, or if it is good old fashioned incompetence that is plaguing him. If the Yankees want to win a World Series this year or any time soon, a better shortstop, whether it is Volpe or someone else, will have to be a major priority.