CHICAGO — It seemed unreal, but Anthony Volpe’s second-inning error against the Chicago White Sox meant he had more errors (two) than hits (one) since Aug. 15. It’s an unfathomable stat for the starting shortstop of the New York Yankees, and it’s why fans at Yankee Stadium have turned on the homegrown player by booing him relentlessly.
After a 2-for-3 night in a 10-4 Yankees win over the White Sox, Volpe now has one more hit than errors in the past two weeks. Not that it’s anything to celebrate, as Volpe is 10 for his last 78 with an on-base percentage below .200 in that span.
Volpe entered Thursday’s game with the lowest on-base percentage and the second-worst batting average in the sport this season. By wRC+, Volpe is a bottom-10 hitter in MLB. His 18 errors are the second most in the majors — only Elly De La Cruz (20) has more. Volpe’s error in the second led to a White Sox grand slam, giving starter Will Warren four unearned runs.
But even in a season when little has gone right for Volpe, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told The Athletic before Thursday’s game that the organization has not considered demoting him to Triple A to work through his offensive and defensive struggles.
“First of all, he’s a more productive offensive player than he gets credit for,” Boone said. “We just hammer the struggles, because, on some level, there were people that anointed him and expected so much. Even though he hasn’t come close to realizing what we expect and what he expects offensively — and acknowledging a few weeks this year where he struggled even defensively — he’s still a frontline defensive player at a premium position that is offensively somewhat productive.
“Now, obviously, he’s had a 10-day stretch here where he’s gone from over a .700 OPS four months into the year to below. We want to send that guy down? What planet does that guy get sent down that’s a shortstop? I don’t know that planet.”
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 29, 2025
At his high point on June 11, Volpe had a .776 OPS, good for a 114 wRC+, meaning he was 14 percent better than the average MLB hitter. But since June 12, only Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz has been a worse hitter.
Meanwhile, Volpe’s defense has taken a considerable step back from his first two seasons in the big leagues. He won the Gold Glove Award in his 2023 rookie year, and he was a finalist last season. In 2024, Volpe was sixth among all shortstops with 13 outs above average. This season, he is tied for 30th among 34 shortstops with minus-7.
There aren’t any favorable numbers the Yankees can point to with Volpe’s 2025 season. He has the lowest BABIP (batting average on balls in play) in the majors, which could point to some bad luck, but his lack of encouraging contact quality metrics would suggest he hasn’t been overly unlucky on the whole.
“I think we’ll get him through this,” Boone said. “I don’t think he should be sent down. I think mentally and emotionally, he’s so much better equipped to handle this than people might imagine. I don’t think he’s getting banged down by this. I’ve never seen that out of him. I’ve never felt that way where this guy needs a break, which could pop up with a player that maybe has been a good player who now needs a timeout. I don’t feel that way.”
“It’s obviously frustrating because you want to get results and help the team,” Volpe said after the game. “When you’re not doing that, it’s frustrating. At the same time, I felt it was close and in a good spot. I felt like I was taking good swings and putting together pretty good at-bats. It’s just a balancing act.”
Anthony Volpe (11) and his Yankees teammates shake hands after winning their fifth game in a row. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
The Yankees benched Volpe for two games earlier this week to give him a “reset,” but it wasn’t meant as a punishment for how he was playing. Hitting coach James Rowson said Volpe wasn’t changing any mechanics; the days off were mainly for the 24-year-old to regather himself.
If the Yankees did make a change at shortstop, Boone now has a trusted option in José Caballero. Before the trade deadline, the Yankees had Oswald Peraza, but they never fully believed in him. Boone views Caballero as a utility option even though the former Tampa Bay Ray has better stats across the board than Volpe this season. But it doesn’t mean Boone is unwilling to give playing time to Caballero at shortstop.
“I have another good player sitting there,” Boone said. “I have a guy I could put in there who’s a really good player that’s different than I’ve had. I don’t think it’s a bad thing every now and then when you are scuffling to sit over here and watch it from a different angle. That’s what it was. It wasn’t this big mental blow that I felt like (Volpe) needed, which I have given those to guys at different times.”
The Yankees believe Caballero’s ultimate value is his ability to play multiple positions. With Aaron Judge unable to play right field as he recovers from a flexor strain, Caballero has entered games in right field as a defensive replacement when Giancarlo Stanton starts in the outfield. Unless the team’s viewpoint on Caballero changes, expect Volpe to be the Yankees’ starting shortstop for the remainder of the season.
(Top photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)