Anthony Volpe is not expected to start in any of the New York Yankees’ three games against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park this weekend, according to manager Aaron Boone. Volpe continues to recover from a cortisone injection administered earlier this week to address an issue with his left shoulder.
“We’ll probably do a little bit more each day and have him in some way for an emergency at some point,” Boone said. “We’ll wait and see how the day unfolds.”
Volpe received the injection on Wednesday, four days after he aggravated what the team identified as a partial labrum tear while lunging for a ball during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. José Caballero started at shortstop on Friday night in Volpe’s place. Boone stated that although he still views Volpe as the starting shortstop, decisions will be made on a day-to-day basis due to the late stage of the season.
“We’ll see,” Boone said. “[Caballero] is playing really well and does a lot of really good things, but there’s a lot of value on the days he’s on the bench, too. We’re at that time of the year where I’m going to do what I think is best for us each and every day.”
When asked about possible surgery for Volpe after the season, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman responded: “As of right now, no, but I wouldn’t rule it out, either. They’ll just repeat imaging and see where he’s at. As of right now, there’s no surgery recommended. There’s not even an IL recommended.”
Cashman acknowledged that Volpe’s shoulder problem has affected his performance: “Clearly, it’s something he’s been bothered by,” Cashman said.
After attempting a diving play on May 3 against Tampa Bay, Volpe underwent an MRI which showed what was described as “good news” by team officials at that time; they believed it was a pre-existing injury that would not prevent him from playing.
“I was told it was good news, that it wasn’t going to interrupt any play; like, he didn’t need any downtime,” Boone said. “Most pitchers have a tear in there of some sort, so it was good news, what we got. He didn’t need to be shut down, and it was something he was going to be able to handle fine.”
Now in his third season as starting shortstop for New York, Volpe won an American League Gold Glove Award in 2023 but has struggled with consistency over his first 460 major league games with a .221/.282/.379 career slash line. In 2025 so far, he is batting .206 with 19 home runs and leads the American League with 19 errors.
On his defensive struggles this year Cashman said: “He’s not defending as he’s certainly capable of this year.”
Asked if Volpe remains part of the club’s long-term plans at shortstop Cashman replied: “Yeah. I think he’s a good player,” Cashman said. “This year notwithstanding, I think he’s got a lot of abilities that are positive.
“I think he’s had a tough stretch, but he’s someone we can count on and believe in – 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. As you know, I think he’s a really talented guy, and I think he has a chance to be a positive impact on us.”
