CLEVELAND — Jazz Chisholm Jr. used Aaron Judge’s bat to hit a three-run home run, but José Caballero didn’t borrow Judge’s size 17 cleats to play right field.
“It’s hard shoes to try to fill,” Caballero quipped, “but I’m trying my best to help the team win.”
After a couple of turns starting in right field in place of the injured three-time MVP, Caballero was back at shortstop — where he played in 40 of the Yankees’ first 41 games this season — Monday against the Guardians as a slumping Anthony Volpe received a day off against nasty right-hander Gavin Williams.
“The comfort level is always there — no matter where I play I’m always going to be confident — but it feels good to be back at short,” Caballero told The Post. “The infield is my natural position, so obviously I’m going to feel way better.”
Volpe started six of the previous seven games at shortstop but produced just three hits in 22 at-bats. He walked ahead of Chisholm’s eighth-inning home run Sunday.
So, whether Monday was just a day off for Volpe or the start of a more reduced role as Caballero reclaims more time at shortstop — as was initially advertised as the plan last month — instead of filling a super-utility role is yet to be seen. In that situation, Spencer Jones (or maybe soon Jasson Domínguez) will plug right field.
“They both, in a lot of ways, deserve to be playing there,” manager Aaron Boone said of his two shortstops. “We’ll continue to try and just do what’s best for the team.”
Volpe has made it easier for Boone to defend the Yankees’ loyalty to their former top prospect by playing 16 consecutive errorless games since a misplay in his MLB season debut. The former Gold Glove winner’s defense became so poor last season that he needed head-clearing breaks.
“Anthony’s defense [has been] excellent: I feel like he’s made half a dozen or so really outstanding plays,” Boone said. “A couple games, I thought he didn’t have great at-bats. I thought [Sunday] the at-bats were there. Hopefully add some results.”
Seeing Volpe play cleaner defensively hasn’t changed Boone’s stance that his decline last season was not the direct result of a shoulder injury that forced him to undergo offseason surgery and begin this season on a rehab assignment.
“I think he had a rough three or four weeks on defense last year,” Boone said. “If you look at August and September, he was very much in line with who he was when he won a Gold Glove … and with what we are seeing right now out there. That stretch where [we] were losing some games and he wasn’t playing his best defensively, that becomes the focal point.
“He and Cabby, I have a ton of confidence in both of them and their ability to play at a high level out there. Now we have to keep doing it. But I like what I’m seeing.”
In games Volpe comes off the bench, he is most likely to take over at shortstop and force Caballero to move around to third base, left field or right field. Talk of Volpe adding other positions to his repertoire has all but died.
“José’s versatility kind of solves that a little bit,” Boone said, “but we’ve had [Volpe] take some [grounders] at second just to keep that in play a little bit.”
Caballero’s pregame routine is to field at the position where he is starting. If he has to make an in-game move, he has years of utility training to fall back on.
“It seems like that [is my role],” Caballero said. “I’m always trying to be ready at any time at any position to help as much as I can. There are some missing people on the roster. We’re not trying to all do more, but we don’t have Judgy. He’s going to be missed, and we have to combine all together to keep fighting for first place in the East.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
