As rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe continues to struggle, and fellow Baby Bomber Oswald Peraza continues to rake for the team's Triple-A affiliate, it's hard to shake the feeling that the New York Yankees have a roster problem on their hands.

Volpe, who beat out Peraza fair and square for the starting job at short during spring training, has scuffled to the tune of a measly .194 batting average and a microscopic 73 OPS+.

Meanwhile, Peraza as feasted on Triple-A pitching, recording a monster 1.059 OPS with 10 homers and a .340 batting average in 108 plate appearances.

The decision is obvious then, no?

Call up Peraza, who is clearly big league ready, and send down Volpe, who obviously could benefit from extra seasoning in the minors.

If only it was that easy.

Perhaps an even bigger problem for the Yankees is the production, or lack thereof, they've received from infielders DJ LeMahieu and Josh Donaldson.

To be fair, Donaldson hasn't played since April, as he's been out with a hamstring strain.

But there's no doubting that Donaldson's .676 OPS in 137 games was not quite what the Yankees were expecting from him offensively when they acquired him from the Minnesota Twins last March.

Meanwhile, LeMahieu, who is in the third year of a six-year, $90 million contract, has a very middling .243/.308/.397 slash line through 51 games played in 2023.

The Yankees are married to LeMahieu, for better or worse.

Donaldson, on the other hand, could be designated for assignment, just as Aaron Hicks was in late-May.

The veteran third baseman, who was activated off of the injured list on Thursday ahead of the Yankees' series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, will play third base full time upon returning.

Donaldson, for all his struggles offensively, remains an elite third baseman defensively.

No one is doubting his glove.

But the Yankees can't continue to turn a blind eye to his ghastly offensive numbers, especially when the guy he replaced at third, Gio Urshela, is hitting .311 for the Los Angeles Angels in 2023.

Donaldson needs to have a short leash from manager Aaron Boone.

Still, the Yankees must give Donaldson one last chance to produce.

He is, after all, a former American League MVP, who, as recently as 2021, posted a solid .827 OPS.

But the more Donaldson strikes out- something he's been doing more over the last two years than he ever has in his career- the easier it is to say that the Yankees got snookered in the trade with the Twins.

But if Donaldson can't produce, the Yankees need to eat his salary and move on. Yankees third basemen have produced -0.7 Wins Above Average, the fifth-worst mark in the majors.

That's not good enough for a team with World Series aspirations.

But where do Peraza and Volpe factor into all this?

The position clearly needs a spark- and Peraza, who has already started a game at third when Donaldson was injured, can provide it.

Peraza, who was once thought of as the big-league starter at short, deserves a promotion to the Yankees' roster.

However, it shouldn't come at the expense of Volpe, whose minor league track record suggest that he will start picking things up at the plate sooner rather than later.

Peraza should replace Donaldson, who simply hasn't been good enough as a Yankee.

It seems like only a matter of time until the Yankees see this as well.