Eleven starts at second base shouldn’t settle the Yankees‘ next everyday job. Anthony Volpe deserves to compete for it, but I’d make him win that competition rather than turn a change of position into an automatic fresh start in the lineup.
The possible opening is real, even if it isn’t final. Bryan Hoch’s offseason assessment described Jazz Chisholm Jr. as unlikely to return and second base as a possible home for Volpe. Chisholm hasn’t departed yet, and New York hasn’t announced its next regular there.
Volpe’s Yankees role needs more than an endorsement
After the ALDS exit, Aaron Judge said the club needed Volpe on the team to win a World Series. That support says something about the captain’s belief in his teammate. It doesn’t answer how often Volpe should play, where he should play or what offensive standard comes with the assignment.
Being worth a roster place and being the best everyday second baseman are different questions. New York can agree with Judge about the first without skipping the work on the second.
Volpe finished the regular season at .245/.321/.336 with two home runs in 70 games. There is some on-base contribution in that line, but a .657 OPS doesn’t make a starting job an easy decision. Changing the defensive label doesn’t add extra-base production to the bat.
0What do you think?Post a comment.The defensive trial was a beginning
Volpe appeared at second in 12 games, starting 11 and playing 102 1/3 innings. He made two errors. Neither the position’s newness nor those errors should be stretched into a complete evaluation of his range, turns or reliability. It was a small assignment, not a full season of proof.
George Lombard Jr. taking over at shortstop gives the Yankees a reason to examine other ways to use Volpe. It doesn’t require them to decide the answer before spring. A player can become comfortable somewhere without immediately becoming the best available choice there.
I’d keep the second-base work going while also preserving a multi-position role as an alternative. If the bat improves and the defensive assessment supports him, there is a useful player to put in the lineup. If the same offensive limitations remain, the Yankees need the freedom to acquire a stronger regular rather than protect a decision they made too early.
Volpe has already had a difficult year. An honest competition isn’t another punishment; it’s a better opportunity than being handed a job that the club later has to take away again.
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