When the Yankees announced that Anthony Volpe would not be added to the active roster when he was activated from the injured list, but instead optioned to Triple-A Scranton, manager Aaron Boone indicated that the team had not considered playing him anywhere but at shortstop. Speaking to the media less than 24 hours later, Boone appeared to walk back those remarks, saying “We’ll see. Right now, he’s going to play shortstop” in response to another question about Volpe’s positional flexibility. While I understand the reasoning behind having Volpe at least start playing his accustomed position exclusively, the prudent move for all involved is to get Anthony Volpe some reps at other positions, or at least at second base.
The benefits for Volpe should be clear. There is no shortage of former shortstop prospects who reinvented themselves throughout the league. Once upon a time, Amed Rosario was the No. 1 prospect in the Mets organization, and in 2017, the MLB.com scouting report said, “There is no question he’ll be a shortstop long-term, with the potential to be an elite-level defender thanks to his range, hands, footwork and plus arm.” He did not come anywhere close to that potential, but has instead built himself a nice career as a southpaw-slugging utilityman capable of playing second, third, and both corner outfield spots — not particularly well, but at least passably. Before him, Jurickson Profar had the same career trajectory (before his multiple PED suspensions, of course).
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Defensively, Volpe projects as a player who should be able to slide around the diamond, at least a little bit. As a Gold Glove shortstop (and yes, I would still classify him as that despite his struggles with the glove last season, which at this point I’m inclined to blame on his injury), he clearly has the range to move around the diamond, even if I’m disinclined to think that he’ll have the arm for the hot corner his throws from short were clocked at 81.9 mph last year (a career high despite the injury), which ranked 40th among shortstops. That weakness, however, would be minimized at second base. Since Volpe has just 45 professional innings away from shortstop — 18 at second, 27 at third, and all in 2021 with the Tampa Tarpons and the Hudson Valley Renegades — it would be beneficial for Volpe’s future career for him to start getting reps there sooner rather than later.
At the same time, it’s within the Yankees’ best interests for them to see what else Volpe can do besides playing shortstop. Yes, the team already has quite a bit of flexibility at the major league level, with Rosario, Caballero, and now Max Schuemann all capable of playing multiple positions. Of this trio, however, Cabby is already in the starting lineup, Rosario doesn’t play great defense, and Volpe has a higher ceiling and slightly longer track record than Schuemann. If Volpe can reinvent himself as a strong defender at both middle infield positions over the next month or two, he can provide real insurance in the event of a Jazz Chisholm Jr. injury this season (or a departure in free agency this winter).
In truth, there’s really only one person who would not benefit from Volpe increasing his positional versatility: Oswaldo Cabrera, who has struggled to find his footing in Scranton after missing most of last season. And while I love the Yankees’ human Golden Retriever… more competition is never a bad thing.
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