2025 has confirmed to be a making an attempt season for New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe. The 24-year-old New Jersey native started the yr as a possible franchise cornerstone alongside outfielder Aaron Choose, however has struggled on each side of the ball. Now, his tenure in New York could be in jeopardy.
Volpe has been the topic of standard booing from followers at Yankee Stadium in latest weeks, whereas some segments of the fanbase have even began questioning if the staff may commerce him this winter. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman overtly questioned whether or not the Yankees could be higher off beginning Jose Caballero at shortstop in the event that they attain the postseason.
Nonetheless, a lot of the issue with Volpe facilities on notion moderately than his on-field manufacturing.
Sky-high expectations from the beginning
Expectations have at all times been unfairly excessive for Volpe. In the course of the 2021 offseason, three big-name shortstops reached the open market in free company: Carlos Correa, Corey Seager and Trevor Story. New York did not severely pursue any of them, as a substitute insisting that that they had a future reply on the place in-house in both Volpe or Oswald Peraza.
By the next summer time, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that Volpe, who was at Double-A Somerset and had solely landed on preseason prospect rankings for the primary time months earlier, had been deemed untouchable in commerce talks.
“The Yankees did not blow off the shortstop free agent market as a result of they needed to behave just like the A’s,” wrote Nightengale in 2022. “They love Volpe, and imagine he may very well be the following Derek Jeter.”
Anthony Volpe vs. Derek Jeter
Volpe made the Yankees’ Opening Day roster in 2023 and slashed .209/.283/.383 (81 OPS+) throughout 601 plate appearances in his rookie marketing campaign. He hit 23 doubles, 21 dwelling runs and stole 24 bases earlier than taking dwelling a Gold Glove Award and ending eighth in AL Rookie of the 12 months voting.
Getting into play on Wednesday, Volpe has hit .227/.282/.377 (84 OPS+) alongside 31 homers and 44 steals since 2024.
Amongst certified shortstops in 2025, Volpe’s .661 OPS is third-worst, and his 140 strikeouts are the sixth-most. He is additionally been caught stealing the third-most instances (7), and his 19 errors lead all American League fielders no matter place.
There is a justifiable cause for a lot of the angst directed in direction of Volpe and supervisor Aaron Boone for persevering with to play him every day. However, a few of that stems from an expectation that Volpe goes to be Jeter, as each had been homegrown skills.
Jeter was named the Yankees’ beginning shortstop out of spring coaching in 1996. He hit .314/.370/.430 (101 OPS+) in his rookie season, with 25 doubles, 10 homers and 14 steals, unanimously incomes the AL Rookie of the 12 months Award.
The Corridor of Famer’s profession would solely enhance from there, ending with a .310/.377/.440 (115 OPS+) slash line over his 20-year profession in New York. He would acquire 3,465 hits, hit 260 dwelling runs, steal 358 bases and win a bunch of awards whereas serving to the Yankees to 5 World Sequence championships.
He was a once-in-a-generation participant. Anticipating anybody to be “the following Jeter” is not lifelike, and but these expectations have unfairly weighed on Volpe his entire profession.
Adjusting the angle
Nonetheless, it should not be missed how productive Volpe has really been in his transient Yankees profession. In accordance with Stats Carry out, Volpe has the ninth-best OPS all-time amongst Yankees shortstops over their first three seasons. Derek Jeter (.783 OPS) stands on the high of the record, adopted by Lyn Larry, Frankie Crosetti, Eduardo Nunez, Phil Rizzuto, Phil Linz, Mark Koenig, Tony Kubek and Volpe.
Volpe leads all Yankees shortstops in dwelling runs (52; Crosetti is second with 25) and stolen bases (68; Rizzuto is second with 50) by way of their first three seasons. Jeter is third and fifth, respectively.
Volpe has been extra productive than many are prepared to acknowledge. He simply has fallen in need of the sky-high expectations he is been saddled with.
