Yankees Gold Glover Missing the Target
New York Yankee manager Aaron Boone once snapped at a reporter for daring to ask the question. No one on the current Yankee roster is more protected. The excuses are loaded when it comes to this player, and that must work out, but often doesn't. If you challenge the reasoning for playing him, it will bring out the worst in Boone and Yankee GM Brian Cashman. They have called him elite and arrogantly proclaimed to the media to watch him rake. The Yankees have tried for three years to justify passing on the best shortstop free agent class in recent memory for the most favored prospect they ever presented. The player being referenced is Anthony Volpe.
The player should be nicknamed the Golden Ticket, for he has been given the keys to the most illustrious position in the history of the franchise without truly earning it. The problem is that the Yankee hype machine compared him to Derek Jeter so they would not have to spend big money on a top free agent shortstop. Especially when the options were plentiful in 2023 and the narrative was formed that Volpe was another Jersey native who could hit. In essence, he was walking in the footsteps of an all-time great. His face was plastered in advertisements as the next big star. The spring training that won him the competition for short seemed to confirm this. What happened instead was a major league mixed bag. He drove in 60 RBIs and hit 21 home runs. He was the first Yankee rookie to win the Gold Glove Award. However, there were red flags as well. His .283 OBP was worst in MLB, and his strikeout rate was the 13th worst in the league. His batting average reflected this at .209. He received a single vote for Rookie of the Year.
The expectation needle suddenly moved in another direction after 2023. The Yankees focused on his defense and speed. The hitting was deemphasized, yet he improved to .243. He dropped to 12 home runs but matched his RBI total. The focus on leveling out his swing and going to the opposite field initially worked, but Volpe could not sustain it, going back to old habits and striking out 156 times. On the defensive end, his range was not great, and his arm was not strong enough; therefore, questioning the validity of his Gold Glove a season before. The 2024 postseason was the saving grace for his image. He hit .287 in the second season and capped it with a big grand slam home run in Game 4 of the World Series to lead the Yankees' sole win of the series. Many felt he found something he could build on.
Volpe went into this season with increased expectations and fell on his face. The fanbase has turned against Volpe, and his excuse passes from the organization. His average has fallen to .214. His walks and stolen bases have fallen. His OBP has now met his first-season number. In addition, Volpe's defense has declined. His weak and inaccurate arm has been exposed, and if not for Paul Goldschmidt, he would have produced more than the league-leading 12 he has already incurred. There is no evidence of Boone's view of him being a top shortstop. He has proven to be another Yankee first-round bust. No analytics can justify him starting on a major league team outside of being a high-functioning bench piece. There were whispers of a shoulder issue. If this is true, the Yankees will not rest him and let him continue to swing and throw with an injury. They are damned whether they say one thing about Volpe or go in another direction. The refusal to admit their three-year mistake will continue to leave a hole that will cause Volpe and, by extension, the Yankees to miss their target once again.
