Aaron Boone pinch-hitting for Anthony Volpe to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning on Friday was unexpected since the Yankees have been unwavering in their belief in him.
Although such things are beyond my control, the competitive side of you wants to go out there, support the team, and feel capable. After Boone resorted to Trent Grisham following a 6-5 loss to the Mets, Volpe stated. Simply working hard and earning those at-bats is what matters.
Boone mentioned that right-handed Reed Garrett was pitching and that he had some left-swinging thunder on his bench. Nevertheless, he also admitted that Volpe has struggled to get going at the plate in recent weeks.
He’s going through it a little bit right now, the manager remarked, after Volpe went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in the Subway Series opener, dropping to a.222 average and a.695 OPS.
Volpe concurred with that conclusion.
“Definitely grinding,” he remarked, attributing his offensive difficulties to bad timing at the plate. attempting to make pitches hit and drive them so they can see the ball and feel at ease. However, it’s clear that you work every day to feel well.
“I feel good physically,” Volpe remarked during his postgame scrum. However, the 24-year-old refused to make any comments that would be construed as an explanation when the Daily News inquired if a Walker Buehler hit-by-pitch to his left elbow on June 6 had any long-term effects.
Volpe remarked, “I feel good enough to be playing well.” I wish I could say anything about it.
“I obviously wish I was fine, but it’s all good,” he remarked later.
Since the hit-by-pitch that prevented him from starting on June 7, Volpe has worn an elbow protector in every game. When asked if his swing was affected by the protective equipment, Volpe graciously brushed the matter aside.
“Everything is fine,” he reiterated.
Volpe’s performance was unaffected by the guard or the hit-by-pitch, according to Boone, but since he rejoined the team on June 8, his quality of contact metrics have decreased. He was hitting.182 before Friday, and his OPS has been.539 ever since.
Among the 25 eligible shortstops, Volpe was rated seventh overall with 46 RBI, eighth with BB% (9.7), fourteenth with slugging (.399), fifteenth with home runs (9), eighteenth with K% (24.2), twenty-first with xwOBA (.310), fWAR (1.2), and on-base percentage (.303), and twenty-third with average (.224) going into Friday.
He was ranked 18th with a 97 wRC+. A score of one hundred is regarded as league average.
Whether healthy or not, Volpe’s 2.5-year career has been marked by sharp fluctuations in offensive output. His extremely variable at-bat performance and shifting strategies are to be expected at this time.
What’s new this year is that Volpe has been a statistical liability both in the field and on the bases.
He had a -0.6 BsR going into Friday, according to FanGraphs’ comprehensive baserunning statistic, but for a player who has made glovework his specialty, his defensive shortcomings have been more apparent.
When play started on Friday, Volpe’s 11 mistakes lead the American League. He made two foolish throws in the sixth inning of Monday’s game against Toronto, but that was his most recent outing.
But it’s not only the mistakes. A number of publicly available defensive measures indicate that Volpe has regressed in the field.
In contrast to his 14 outs above average as a 2024 Gold Glove finalist, he had -2 outs above average. In 2023, he received the award as a rookie with one OAA.
Volpe’s fielding run value was -1, but he also had three defensive runs saved.
Even though the Yankees have more issues in their infield and Volpe continues to produce outstanding plays on a regular basis, such stats are insufficient for a guy whose primary contribution is on defense. Along with his poor bat, Volpe’s tendency to make mistakes in high-leverage situations has just made the problem worse.
Per FanGraphs, he was ranked seventh in DRS, sixteenth in FRV, and seventeenth in OAA out of those twenty-five shortstops. According to Statcast’s Range metric, Volpe was placed 18th as well.
That was before to Volpe’s inability to stop Pete Alonso’s 108.3-mph, third-inning RBI single on Friday. The ball bounced into left field after hitting off his glove, and he went to his knees trying to make the play.
It was a challenging play, but after the Yankees lost by a run, Boone was questioned about whether the infielder needed to knock the ball down given the recent criticism of Volpe’s defense.
“He’s trying to make a play on a rocket that is an in-between hop,” Boone explained. Can he make that play, then? Naturally. If he makes it, is it a special play? Indeed.
There is a unique defender out there.
Boone, a longtime ardent fan of Volpe’s, was clearly annoyed by the inquiry. But as he moved away from the microphone in the press conference room at Citi Field, he left no space for question.
Boone spoke to a defender who had displayed symptoms of regression when he exclaimed, “He’s f g elite,” before leaving.
