Subscribe
Follow Us
The 2025 season has had plenty of ups and downs for the New York Yankees, and there are still two months of regular season baseball left for them to play. On Tuesday, the Yankees showed all of their strengths and weaknesses in a 7-5 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Their offense continues to be outstanding, scoring the most total runs in the AL thus far this season, but their defense remains shaky — putting their pitching at such a difficult spot.
On Tuesday, despite the win against the Rays, the Yankees committed two errors yet again — both coming from shortstop Anthony Volpe. Volpe has plenty of range as a shortstop, but that arm needs to be reined in a bit. He committed two throwing errors, with one of those leading to two runs for the Rays in the first inning, and then his second miscue came in the ninth inning, almost allowing the Rays back into the game.
Volpe is slumping hard defensively right now, and he used to be so sure-handed at the position that it's hard to think of this as anything other than a rough patch. The Yankees shortstop definitely is holding himself to a higher standard than what he's been showing thus far.
“I gotta make those plays, obviously,” Volpe said after the game, per Gary Phillips of New York Daily News. “I know what I'm capable of, so it's obviously frustrating. It's not discouraging, and I know the standard that I have for myself.”
Volpe now has 15 errors on the season, and he's dangerously close to surpassing his career-high in a single season with plenty of baseball left on the campaign. (He had 17 errors in 2023 and 16 last year.) Playing such a crucial position on the diamond, Volpe cannot afford to let the Yankees down with his carelessness.
Anthony Volpe is the Yankees' double-edged sword
Volpe is the Yankees' best option at shortstop even though he's in the middle of battling against some defensive yips. And on Tuesday, he did redeem himself a bit by hitting a home run in the eighth inning that gave New York the 7-5 lead that would ultimately stand as the game's final score.
The 24-year-old shortstop is rescuing some value with the power production he gives the Yankees from the bottom of the lineup. He just needs to figure out his fielding woes to avoid drawing added scrutiny from a fanbase that is growing more fed up with him with each passing game.
