Anthony Volpe played a baseball game Tuesday night for the first time since he underwent shoulder surgery to deal with a torn labrum last October. It was in Somerset, not Yankee Stadium. And he only played long enough to take two at-bats. But he was out there again, and he felt that was worth celebrating.
“It was great. Like, so much fun to be back out there,” Volpe said. “It felt like a big milestone. We appreciated it for what it was.”
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What it was is the beginning of a build-up that his manager, Aaron Boone, said will likely continue in the minor leagues through at least next week. He said Volpe will play five-plus in Somerset again Thursday and Friday, take a day off Saturday, then play again Sunday. Minor league teams do not play on Mondays, so the Yankees currently plan to use that as a rest day before transferring Volpe’s rehab to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he will continue to increase workload.
“Probably four or five games next week, then we’ll kind of evaluate and see where we’re at from there,” Boone said.
Volpe admitted it will be difficult for him to wait through such a deliberate build-up before returning to the big leagues, though he conceded he wants to experience a variety of in-game occurrences – running the bases, diving for a ball, etc. – so he knows how the shoulder will feel during and after each of them.
“I wish I could play more to test it more, but it felt amazing,” Volpe said. “I feel like we have a great routine to warm everything up and get ready, so it feels good.”
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The Yankees have mostly relied on Jose Caballero to play shortstop in Volpe’s absence, with a few appearances from Ryan McMahon sprinkled in as well. That combination left the Yankees tied for the worst shortstop OPS in baseball entering Wednesday night’s game — .471, tied with the Boston Red Sox.
Exactly what a now-healthy Volpe will be offensively remains to be seen, but he certainly enjoyed a good test of his readiness Tuesday: Both of his at-bats came against rehabbing Phillies ace Zack Wheeler. He struck out both times.
“He looked sharp,” Volpe said. “But I feel like I saw it okay. It was a treat for sure.”
Speaking of injured aces, two Yankees who qualify for that title should be taking steps forward in the next few days.
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Carlos Rodón, who threw three innings and 50 pitches in his last live batting practice session, will pitch to live hitters in Somerset on Saturday, Boone said. Gerrit Cole, meanwhile, threw his regularly scheduled side session before Wednesday’s game. The team will decide later this evening whether Cole will pitch in a game Friday at Somerset or merely throw to live hitters. The veteran threw three innings in a live batting practice session last weekend.
Exactly when both will return to the majors remains unclear, though Boone said earlier this week he still estimates Rodón is ahead of Cole. But both pitchers are firmly in the building stamina phase of their rehabilitation process, which means if everything continues to go well, they can both now count their remaining absence in weeks, not months.
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