Offseason movement has many fans and pundits wondering how the New York Yankees could attempt to tweak their roster. Despite some speculation, it does not appear as though the organization is looking to part with shortstop Anthony Volpe just yet.
According to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, while the Yankees might be ready to completely “give up” on Volpe, he could be nearing his final chance to show his team that he can be a franchise cornerstone.
“Volpe is still relatively inexpensive for a shortstop because he’s entering his first year of arbitration. In 2024, he produced 3.5 fWAR, a good result, especially for a player not making much money. That season, most of Volpe’s WAR was accumulated from his defense and base running. It’s fair at this point to wonder if he’ll become an average offensive player; there are not many positives to point to with his profile. But if he could get back to being a good defender, there’s a decent enough player in there to not totally give up on him,” Kirschner wrote.
“If Volpe is a similar player to what he was in 2025 — a poor hitter and a poor defender — the Yankees don’t have much choice but to start considering other long-term options. Suppose Volpe is ineffective upon his return from offseason shoulder surgery. We might start to see him lose playing time to José Caballero, who can fill in at the position.”
2025 was a down year for Volpe. While he did hit 19 home runs, the 24-year-old only mustered a .663 OPS. According to Baseball Savant, he ranked in the third percentile in Batting Run Value.
The former first-round pick was not much better defensively. He made a league-leading 19 errors and ranked in the 17th percentile in Fielding Run Value.
After the end of the campaign Volpe underwent shoulder surgery, leaving his initial availability for 2026 up in the air.
It is not known how the Yankees will treat this offseason, but Volpe will have to prove that he’s a major league player if he has designs on remaining in New York.
