The Yankees are starting Anthony Volpe at second base in pregame drills on May 22, a new wrinkle in an infield that is already shifting around Jose Caballero’s return from the injured list. Manager Aaron Boone said Volpe will stay on the big league roster even with Caballero back, and he plans to make the shortstop call every night.
Caballero was back in the lineup for the big weekend series against the division-leading Rays and started against Nick Martinez, giving the Yankees another healthy middle-infield option after a minimal IL stay caused by a fracture in his right middle finger. Boone said he viewed Caballero as the starting shortstop when he returned, but the club is now trying to create more flexibility in the middle of the diamond, with Volpe getting work at second while Jazz Chisholm Jr. remains the primary second baseman.
The move matters because Volpe has spent his entire major league career at shortstop, piling up more than 4,000 innings there, and the Yankees had never asked him to take reps at another infield spot in the majors. Five years ago, he started two games at second base in A-ball, but the club does not intend to use him at third base. Instead, it wants him available at either middle infield spot, a sign that the roster picture has become crowded enough to force choices rather than simply fill gaps.
That crowding is real. Chisholm started his 48th of 52 games at second base on May 22, while Amed Rosario has handled the other four starts there to give him occasional rest against left-handed pitching. Caballero, meanwhile, comes in as the team leader with 13 stolen bases and a.259/.320/.400 line across 147 plate appearances, and earlier in the season he had already been the full-time shortstop while Volpe was rehabbing shoulder surgery from last fall.
Volpe’s own eight-game run while Caballero was out made the decision harder, not easier. He produced five hits, including two doubles, and drew seven walks in 30 plate appearances, enough to convince the Yankees not to send the rookie back to Triple-A. They also do not want to use him only against left-handed pitching, which suggests this is no temporary platoon experiment but part of a broader effort to keep his bat in the lineup while accommodating Caballero and Chisholm.
There is still a bigger problem behind all of it. The Yankees have not gotten much from Ryan McMahon at third base all year, so the infield alignment may keep changing as the team tries to find a combination that works. Boone’s choice to keep Volpe on the roster, let Caballero start at shortstop for now, and begin testing Volpe at second base points to a club that has decided the cleanest answer is not a fixed answer at all.
