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SAINT PETERSBURG — Typically soft-spoken and succinct, Anthony Volpe spent nearly seven minutes defending his character and denying a rumor that claimed he refused to play second base.
“It definitely caught me off guard. It’s confusing, just because it’s not true. It couldn’t be further from the truth, and from my end, from my perspective, that’s been very clearly communicated to [Aaron Boone] and the team. I think it’s just kind of B.S., honestly,” Volpe said before the Yankees played the Rays on Wednesday. “I hope my teammates in here — and I’ve played for 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.
“I feel like I’m defending myself over something that literally didn’t happen.”
Volpe offered that impassioned response after Michael Kay, the Yankees’ play-by-play man on the YES Network, said that the career shortstop refused to play second base.
“When he was in the minor leagues, the Yankees said, ‘Maybe you should play some shortstop,’” Kay initially said Tuesday on ESPN New York. “And he allegedly said, ‘No, I’m a shortstop.’ That’s not a good look, if it happened.”
On Wednesday, Kay retracted his remarks about Volpe – a highly polarizing player among fans – after they spread like wildfire on social media. The longtime broadcaster also told reporters at Tropicana Field that he would say sorry to Volpe.
“I had had two people tell me, and I heard rumors, and I was wrong,” Kay said. “So when somebody called me today and said, ‘That’s not right,’ I made further calls and they said, ‘No, he had never refused to play second base,’ so I retracted it. I plan to talk to [Volpe] at some point today or tomorrow and apologize. I feel badly for it. I wouldn’t want to put him in the crosshairs.”
While Volpe has worked out at second base a bit over the last few weeks, he has not played anywhere but short as a big leaguer.
The 25-year-old said Boone first talked to him about potentially playing second when José Caballero returned from a fractured finger on May 22. Prior to getting hurt, Caballero, previously a utilityman, shined as the Yankees’ starting shortstop while Volpe recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. Caballero performed well enough that the Yankees optioned Volpe, their nearly-unchallenged starting shortstop of the past three seasons, to Triple-A when his rehab assignment ended.
“I’ve been working, ready to go for literally anything, so it’s just confusing to me,” Volpe said before he played short and Caballero played second against the Rays.
Volpe, who played some second base in high school and briefly at the very beginning of his pro career, added that he’d feel comfortable if needed there.
“I don’t know where that’s come from, because Anthony is going to do whatever for the team always,” Boone said of Kay’s comments. “Volp’s character and team-first is beyond reproach. He is as good as it gets. 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, who admitted that the “laughable” rumor pissed him off, said that he repeatedly asked the Yankees what they expected from him when he began rehabbing his shoulder. Only able to take groundballs over the first several months of the process, he said he was told to “be ready to come back and play short.”
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman previously said that the plan was always for Volpe to return as the starting shortstop, but Caballero’s play — he led the position in Defensive Runs Saved and brought a spark to the lineup before getting hurt — changed the equation.
Asked if he sees the shortstop position as part of his identity, Volpe said, “No. When I was getting optioned, I told Boonie I’d play catcher. I’d do literally whatever the team needed, and that’s the truth behind the story. That’s why the fact that what was said was said catches me so off guard. Because there literally was zero of that.
“I still have no problem [playing second]. I want to be here, and I want to help the team win the World Series. That’s literally all I want. So for anything opposite to be put out there, it’s kind of confusing.
“It’s not true. It’d be one thing if I really felt that way, but I’ve never felt that way.”
A below league-average hitter throughout his career and a Gold Glover as a rookie in 2023, Volpe endured an awful defensive season in 2023. As for this season, he was hitting .240 with a .663 OPS, one home run, three errors, one Defensive Run Saved and five Outs Above Average over 41 games prior to Wednesday.
Caballero, who has a stronger arm, was hitting .245 with a .701 OPS and 10 homers. As a shortstop, he had four errors, six Defensive Runs Saved -1 and Outs Above Average over 438 innings.
Asked why Volpe hasn’t played second — experience that could help him long-term with Jazz Chisholm Jr. headed for free agency and top prospect George Lombard Jr. waiting in the wings — Boone noted that the Yankees have battled injuries since he began practicing there, and that Caballero is already versatile. With a few players hurt, Boone has been able to get both in the lineup.
“We really haven’t had, until Cabbie walked in the door last year, a real competition-based thing there,” Boone said, alluding to the Yankees’ prior lack of alternatives at short during Volpe’s career. “And by the way, [Volpe’s] been a damn good shortstop. Hate to break it to everyone, but that still is real. Has he had his struggles? Sure, but he’s also played really well out there in some long stretches defensively.”
Regardless of where he plays, Volpe, who grew up a Yankees fan in New York and New Jersey, has become a magnet for criticism. Part of that is the team’s fault, as Boone and Cashman have spent much of his career staunchly defending and excusing the former first-round pick’s poor play.
But disdain for Volpe has seemed to reach new heights for some fans and social media users this season, partly because Caballero has had more of a positive impact despite comparable numbers (aside from the home runs).
“It’s funny, I’m caught in the crosshairs of this, and all I do is defend [Volpe] every day on my radio show, what a good guy he is, and I just feel bad if I caused him any angst today,” Kay said. “But yeah, I’ve seen it before. I mean, if you don’t perform in this market, people are gonna jump you. It’s just unusual, though, that a local kid, you’d think maybe he’d get a little more grace, but that hasn’t been the case. I definitely sense it on my radio show, and you can see it on social media.”
Volpe said that he tries to “ignore stuff that doesn’t help me do my job,” Wednesday’s hoopla notwithstanding. That includes negative and positive commentary.
“It’s just not my job to worry about that. I can respect that [reporters] and everyone have an opinion, but my job is to go out there and work and perform and play well,” he said. “That was just how I was brought up through the minors and through the whole system, so I never really paid it too much mind.”
Boone, meanwhile, said that he’s never had to worry about Volpe’s mentality as he’s dealt with the pressures of New York.
“He handles things incredibly well,” the manager said, “and I don’t think he is affected by the different things that can be said on whatever, social or – he’s a gamer. He’s a tough, tough kid that loves the game and plays his butt off every single day.
“I wish that was celebrated a little bit more.”
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“It definitely caught me off guard. It’s confusing, just because it’s not true. It couldn’t be further from the truth, and from my end, from my perspective, that’s been very clearly communicated to [Aaron Boone] and the team. I think it’s just kind of B.S., honestly,” Volpe said before the Yankees played the Rays on Wednesday. “I hope my teammates in here — and I’ve played for 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.
“I feel like I’m defending myself over something that literally didn’t happen.”
Volpe offered that impassioned response after Michael Kay, the Yankees’ play-by-play man on the YES Network, said that the career shortstop refused to play second base.
“When he was in the minor leagues, the Yankees said, ‘Maybe you should play some shortstop,’” Kay initially said Tuesday on ESPN New York. “And he allegedly said, ‘No, I’m a shortstop.’ That’s not a good look, if it happened.”
On Wednesday, Kay retracted his remarks about Volpe – a highly polarizing player among fans – after they spread like wildfire on social media. The longtime broadcaster also told reporters at Tropicana Field that he would say sorry to Volpe.
“I had had two people tell me, and I heard rumors, and I was wrong,” Kay said. “So when somebody called me today and said, ‘That’s not right,’ I made further calls and they said, ‘No, he had never refused to play second base,’ so I retracted it. I plan to talk to [Volpe] at some point today or tomorrow and apologize. I feel badly for it. I wouldn’t want to put him in the crosshairs.”
While Volpe has worked out at second base a bit over the last few weeks, he has not played anywhere but short as a big leaguer.
The 25-year-old said Boone first talked to him about potentially playing second when José Caballero returned from a fractured finger on May 22. Prior to getting hurt, Caballero, previously a utilityman, shined as the Yankees’ starting shortstop while Volpe recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. Caballero performed well enough that the Yankees optioned Volpe, their nearly-unchallenged starting shortstop of the past three seasons, to Triple-A when his rehab assignment ended.
“I’ve been working, ready to go for literally anything, so it’s just confusing to me,” Volpe said before he played short and Caballero played second against the Rays.
Volpe, who played some second base in high school and briefly at the very beginning of his pro career, added that he’d feel comfortable if needed there.
“I don’t know where that’s come from, because Anthony is going to do whatever for the team always,” Boone said of Kay’s comments. “Volp’s character and team-first is beyond reproach. He is as good as it gets. 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, who admitted that the “laughable” rumor pissed him off, said that he repeatedly asked the Yankees what they expected from him when he began rehabbing his shoulder. Only able to take groundballs over the first several months of the process, he said he was told to “be ready to come back and play short.”
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman previously said that the plan was always for Volpe to return as the starting shortstop, but Caballero’s play — he led the position in Defensive Runs Saved and brought a spark to the lineup before getting hurt — changed the equation.
Asked if he sees the shortstop position as part of his identity, Volpe said, “No. When I was getting optioned, I told Boonie I’d play catcher. I’d do literally whatever the team needed, and that’s the truth behind the story. That’s why the fact that what was said was said catches me so off guard. Because there literally was zero of that.
“I still have no problem [playing second]. I want to be here, and I want to help the team win the World Series. That’s literally all I want. So for anything opposite to be put out there, it’s kind of confusing.
“It’s not true. It’d be one thing if I really felt that way, but I’ve never felt that way.”
A below league-average hitter throughout his career and a Gold Glover as a rookie in 2023, Volpe endured an awful defensive season in 2023. As for this season, he was hitting .240 with a .663 OPS, one home run, three errors, one Defensive Run Saved and five Outs Above Average over 41 games prior to Wednesday.
Caballero, who has a stronger arm, was hitting .245 with a .701 OPS and 10 homers. As a shortstop, he had four errors, six Defensive Runs Saved -1 and Outs Above Average over 438 innings.
Asked why Volpe hasn’t played second — experience that could help him long-term with Jazz Chisholm Jr. headed for free agency and top prospect George Lombard Jr. waiting in the wings — Boone noted that the Yankees have battled injuries since he began practicing there, and that Caballero is already versatile. With a few players hurt, Boone has been able to get both in the lineup.
“We really haven’t had, until Cabbie walked in the door last year, a real competition-based thing there,” Boone said, alluding to the Yankees’ prior lack of alternatives at short during Volpe’s career. “And by the way, [Volpe’s] been a damn good shortstop. Hate to break it to everyone, but that still is real. Has he had his struggles? Sure, but he’s also played really well out there in some long stretches defensively.”
Regardless of where he plays, Volpe, who grew up a Yankees fan in New York and New Jersey, has become a magnet for criticism. Part of that is the team’s fault, as Boone and Cashman have spent much of his career staunchly defending and excusing the former first-round pick’s poor play.
But disdain for Volpe has seemed to reach new heights for some fans and social media users this season, partly because Caballero has had more of a positive impact despite comparable numbers (aside from the home runs).
“It’s funny, I’m caught in the crosshairs of this, and all I do is defend [Volpe] every day on my radio show, what a good guy he is, and I just feel bad if I caused him any angst today,” Kay said. “But yeah, I’ve seen it before. I mean, if you don’t perform in this market, people are gonna jump you. It’s just unusual, though, that a local kid, you’d think maybe he’d get a little more grace, but that hasn’t been the case. I definitely sense it on my radio show, and you can see it on social media.”
Volpe said that he tries to “ignore stuff that doesn’t help me do my job,” Wednesday’s hoopla notwithstanding. That includes negative and positive commentary.
“It’s just not my job to worry about that. I can respect that [reporters] and everyone have an opinion, but my job is to go out there and work and perform and play well,” he said. “That was just how I was brought up through the minors and through the whole system, so I never really paid it too much mind.”
Boone, meanwhile, said that he’s never had to worry about Volpe’s mentality as he’s dealt with the pressures of New York.
“He handles things incredibly well,” the manager said, “and I don’t think he is affected by the different things that can be said on whatever, social or – he’s a gamer. He’s a tough, tough kid that loves the game and plays his butt off every single day.
“I wish that was celebrated a little bit more.”
Continue reading...
