BOSTON — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before Friday night’s game that he does not expect shortstop Anthony Volpe to start any of the three games against the Red Sox after receiving a cortisone injection in his left shoulder on Wednesday. On Thursday, Boone revealed for the first time that Volpe has played through a partially torn labrum this season, which the club’s medical team determined was an “old injury.”

But speaking at Fenway Park on Friday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said he could not definitively say whether offseason surgery for Volpe was being considered, but they are not expecting that outcome.

“As of right now, no, but I wouldn’t rule it out, either,” Cashman said. “They’ll just repeat imaging at the end of the year and see where he’s at. Right now, there’s no surgery recommended. There’s not even an IL (stint) recommended. They’ll revisit everything and make decisions based on how things are and how he’s feeling at that time because, clearly, there’ll be more physical experiences when he comes back and starts playing again for us.”

Cashman said the 24-year-old’s shoulder is “clearly something he’s been bothered by.” However, similar to what Boone said on Thursday, Cashman stated that he was unsure of the effect it had on Volpe’s performance, calling it a “gray area.”

There’s some internal belief that Volpe’s shoulder may be a cause for his defense slipping.

“I think our internal stuff, he gets to a lot more balls,” Cashman said. “I think the external metrics don’t (give him) credit for. But, yes, he’s not defending as well as he’s certainly capable of this year. Who knows how much that shoulder has been a part of that process. I’m sure it’s watered down him on the offensive and defensive side, but I think he’s still really capable of being a quality, above-average, regular shortstop in the game.”

One thing that isn’t a gray area, Cashman believes Volpe is the Yankees’ shortstop of the future, despite three consecutive years of underperformance offensively. This is the first season that Volpe has graded out as a negative defender after winning the Gold Glove Award in his rookie season and being a finalist in Year 2. Volpe has amassed 0.6 fWAR in Year 3, which is the second-lowest among 25 qualified shortstops in 2025.

“Yeah, I think he’s a good player,” Cashman said when directly asked if he views Volpe as the shortstop in 2026 and beyond. “I think he’s got a lot of abilities that are positive, and, this year notwithstanding, he’s had a tough stretch. I think he’s someone that we can count on and we believe in, but acknowledging at the same time, this isn’t the season that we expected or he expected, but that doesn’t change our viewpoint of what he’s capable of. I think he’s a really talented guy and I think he has a chance to be a positive impact on us.”

Boone believes that positive impact could come as soon as when he’s back in the lineup. He thinks Volpe could have a similar postseason that he had in 2024, when he finished with a 138 wRC+. However, neither Boone nor Cashman have said that Volpe will return to being the starting shortstop when he’s healthy. José Caballero has started in place of Volpe and will continue to do so in his absence.

When asked to divulge what gave him confidence in Volpe long term, Cashman did not point to any specifics but rather platitudes that have not mounted to much success three years into the shortstop’s career.

“I think he’s young, he’s talented, I think he’s done a lot of good things, and obviously he’s had some tough times, too,” Cashman said.

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