The Yankees may have stumbled onto a broader path back to the Bronx for Anthony Volpe, and it started with something as simple as a clean day at second base.
Volpe, optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 4, started at a position other than shortstop for the first time since 2021 on Saturday and handled all three chances that came his way in a 9-0 loss to Rochester at PNC Field. The move matters because New York’s infield picture has shifted fast, and the old idea that Volpe was locked into shortstop no longer fits the roster the Yankees are working with now.
George Lombard Jr. has made that reality harder to ignore. The 21-year-old rookie was promoted the same day Volpe was sent down, and the Yankees have given him regular run at shortstop. He even homered for his first major league hit and has looked comfortable defensively in his first week.
That leaves Volpe in a tougher spot than before. His task is no longer just about getting the bat going again after an uneven season.
José Caballero can move around the infield, Jazz Chisholm Jr. is holding down second base, and Lombard has been given room to grow at short. If Volpe is going to force his way back, he may need to do it in a different way than the one that once seemed reserved for him.
The first Triple-A test at second base went smoothly enough. Volpe went 1-for-4 with a double and two strikeouts, and his double was Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s only extra-base hit.
Rochester used seven pitchers in the shutout. Erik Tolman got the win, and Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón took the loss in a rehab start.
Volpe still worked at shortstop on the other days around that game. He was back there Friday and Sunday, homered for two runs Friday, made a throwing error, and then returned to short on Sunday as the RailRiders beat Scranton/Wilkes-Barre rallied for a 9-8 win.
The Yankees had already been laying some groundwork for this kind of move. Volpe has occasionally taken ground balls at second base on days he wasn’t in the lineup while with the big club. Triple-A now gives New York a safer setting to turn those reps into actual game action.
There’s a baseball fit here, too. Baseball Savant’s 2026 Statcast data has Volpe with six Outs Above Average and a fielding range in the 91st percentile, while his arm strength sits in the 15th percentile. Second base asks less of the arm and still rewards range, reactions and footwork.
The numbers at the plate remain the bigger issue. In 56 major league games this season, Volpe hit .240 with a .325 on-base percentage and a .322 slugging percentage, with one home run, 19 RBIs and seven stolen bases in 194 plate appearances. He has to hit enough to make any defensive flexibility matter.
That was on display in his first weekend back in Triple-A. He launched a two-run homer Friday, doubled Saturday, then managed only one hit Sunday.
He also struck out four times Friday and made the throwing error at shortstop. It was a mixed three-game stretch, not a clean statement that the bat had suddenly turned the corner.
There’s also a bigger-picture wrinkle for the Yankees. Chisholm is playing 2026 on a one-year deal and is eligible for free agency after the season, according to MLB. That doesn’t mean New York has decided anything about his future, but it does mean the club can’t assume second base will look the same next spring.
Volpe, 25, remains under team control, and that keeps the door open. If he can show he can handle both middle-infield spots while rebuilding his offense, his case changes. He would no longer need Lombard to lose the shortstop job just to find his way back into the lineup.
For now, there’s no clear timetable for his return, especially if the Yankees stay healthy and Lombard keeps holding his own. But Saturday did change the shape of the conversation.
The question is no longer only whether Volpe can get shortstop back. It’s whether another position can put him back in the Yankees’ plans.
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