Anthony Volpe’s path back into the Yankees’ plans has turned into something far stranger than a simple return to shortstop.
On Friday, with the Wild Card Series looming and Boston set to come to Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, the Yankees used a doubleheader against Baltimore to keep sorting through the last pieces of their postseason infield. Volpe fit into that picture at shortstop in Game 2, but he also got his first major league start at third base - a look that was supposed to answer a question and instead barely gave the Yankees anything to work with.
New York split the day, dropping the opener 10-2 before taking the second game 6-3. Volpe finished with three hits across the two games, including a two-run ground-rule double in the sixth inning of the nightcap. Will Warren picked up the win with 3 2/3 scoreless relief innings, and Orioles starter Brandon Young took the loss.
The bigger story was the Yankees’ infield shuffle, which still looks unsettled with October almost here. George Lombard Jr. has taken over at shortstop, Jazz Chisholm Jr. is back at second, and Jose Caballero now stands as the leading third-base option.
Ryan McMahon, even with some recent extra-base hits, is out of the preferred postseason mix. Amed Rosario remains a matchup bat.
Volpe, meanwhile, has become the movable piece.
That would have sounded unlikely not long ago. The Yankees optioned Volpe to Triple-A on Aug. 4 after Lombard replaced him at shortstop, and he had no promise of getting back.
Instead, he hit .284 with 10 homers and 21 RBIs in 28 games at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre while picking up new defensive responsibilities. Since his Sept. 10 recall, the Yankees have treated that versatility as a possible October weapon rather than simply putting him back in his old everyday role.
Friday’s test at third base was meant to help settle that. Instead, it produced almost no real defensive evidence.
The only ball hit in Volpe’s direction came in the ninth inning, when Christian Encarnacion-Strand rolled a grounder toward third. The ball hit the bag and hopped over Volpe, giving him no realistic chance to make a play.
Even so, Boone said the exercise had value.
“Not a lot of action over there, but there’s something to be said for being in there and thinking through the situations and moving and setting up how you’re supposed to,” Boone said.
Volpe said he was comfortable with the new spot.
“I felt comfortable,” Volpe said. “No matter where you play, you got to anticipate and know where you got to be. I feel like I’ve picked it up.”
Boone’s point was less about Volpe becoming a third baseman and more about keeping the Yankees flexible for October.
“With how we set our roster, there could be a lot of moving parts within it within a game,” Boone said.
“So, having more flexibility with guys hopefully puts us in a position to take advantage of a good matchup within the game.”
He added that the Yankees wanted Volpe to get that exposure before the postseason because a game could force the issue late.
“And again, we could find ourselves in the sixth inning of an important game, and I don’t want to hold back on this guy being able to come into the game [at third if necessary]. Having that flexibility is really valuable.”
Volpe’s Triple-A stint helps explain why Boone is willing to keep this door open. In Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he made 19 starts at second base, 15 at shortstop and three at third. Since returning, he has played second regularly, made his first major league appearance at third on Friday, and then moved back to shortstop for the nightcap.
He also gave the Yankees something with the bat in Game 2. In his first appearance at shortstop since Aug.
1, Volpe lined a two-run double during New York’s four-run sixth inning. For September, he is hitting .265/.308/.388 with one homer and nine RBIs.
That kind of three-position flexibility gives Boone more room to pinch hit, pinch run and reshuffle the defense in a short series. Caballero remains the front-runner at third, but Volpe now sits in the contingency lane, ready if a late-game move demands another infield switch.
Friday did not show whether he can handle a steady stream of chances at third, or the tougher plays that would come with the job. It did show that Boone now has another option to keep in his back pocket. And with the Yankees heading toward Boston, that may be the part that matters most.
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