It's Time for the Yankees to Consider an Anthony Volpe Trade

The 2026 season has been a whirlwind for Anthony Volpe. Although he was going to start the campaign on the sidelines, Yankees fans assumed that manager Aaron Boone would thrust Volpe back into the starting shortstop role whenever he returned.

Each of the 4,067 defensive innings in his career has come at SS, after all, and New York has been loyal to him since he was drafted 30th overall in 2019 despite any offensive shortcomings. 

Instead, José Caballero's breakout performance handed Volpe's outlook quite the curveball. 

The Yankees gave Caballero a chance to run away with the starting SS job, and he hasn't disappointed, slashing .259/.320/.400 with four home runs, 13 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, eight walks and a 100 OPS+ in 40 games (135 at-bats). Even his defense has been better than expected, ranking ninth among MLB shortstops when it comes to outs above average (plus-2), per Baseball Savant. 

As a result, the Yankees optioned Volpe to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre when it was time to decide if he were ready to rejoin Boone's lineup. 

As long as Caballero keeps hitting the ball well while making solid defensive stops, Volpe is looking at an uphill battle towards a potential big-league return. Volpe isn't even the de facto backup shortstop when injuries arrive, as the Bombers still have Max Schuemann ready to fill in for Caballero, just like he'll do Monday night.

Without a clear path towards MLB playing time in the Bronx, it's time for the Yankees to consider trading the Big Apple native sooner rather than later.

Anthony Volpe is giving Yankees every reason to consider a trade 

While being demoted can be demoralizing, it isn't always a death sentence. Stringing together a few weeks of solid performances can get a demoted individual back into his MLB manager's good graces, which is what Yankees fans wanted to see from Volpe. 

Instead, the 25-year-old infielder is giving Boone and general manager Brian Cashman every reason to move on. 

In nine games with the RailRiders, Volpe has only mustered one home run, five RBIs, two stolen bases and a walk with a .205/.238/.333 slash line. He's also showing next-to-zero signs of improvement, picking up just two hits in his last 20 ABs, striking out six times along the way. Even his defense—often his bread and butter—hasn't even been up to his usual standards (h/t nypostsports).

The Yankees might be open to giving Volpe more time to prove himself, as he's only seen 68 ABs between Triple-A and Double-A this season. 

At the same time, the quality of a potential trade return will worsen the longer that New York sits on him. This year's MLB trade deadline is on Aug. 3, giving the struggling SS just under three months to keep tanking his value. If that happens, Cashman & Co. will wish that they had traded him much sooner. 

With that in mind, there's nothing wrong with the Yankees kicking the tires now. That doesn't mean a trade will happen tomorrow, but it'd at least get the ball rolling on a conversation. New York can gauge initial interest and move on from there, figuring out which destination not only makes the most sense for Volpe's fresh start but also offers the best return.

The Yankees could find a partner willing to overlook Volpe's ongoing struggles if they believe his old self is still within him. It was only last season when the 5-foot-10 SS amassed a career-high 72 RBIs, along with 19 home runs, and just two years before that when he won a Gold Glove as a rookie. That could be recent enough to fool potential suitors into believing they can save him. 

Clubs like the Twins and Rockies could be interested and potentially view Volpe as a shortstop upgrade. The Giants are another team with trade pieces of interest to the Yankees, as are the Astros, even if they don't jump out as the most obvious club to conduct business with. 

It's far too early to say that Volpe will never play in the Majors again, but it's safe to say any comeback attempt shouldn't happen in New York. He hasn't played well enough defensively or offensively to usurp Caballero, and the likelihood of that happening will decrease further as the season progresses. 

The Yankees need to cut their losses and find a potential trade partner. Even if a deal doesn't happen until June or July, doing their due diligence now will make an eventual trade easier to pull off and increase the odds of a suitable return.

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