In a season full of swings, Anthony Volpe nearly saved his best for last.
Alas, what initially looked like a game-tying, two-run homer in Game 3 of the ALDS could not be saved by the second coming of Jeffrey Maier, and a few innings later, the Yankees were swept by the Rays.
But Volpe’s near-moment, after a season in which he was twice demoted to Triple-A after losing his job as the Yankees starting shortstop, was a reminder that he may still have a place in the future of the organization, namely as their second baseman next season.
There is a long way to go between now and whenever (or if) baseball begins in 2027 — due to the looming lockout — but as the Yankees enter the offseason, Volpe has at least given himself a chance to find a home again in pinstripes, as George Lombard Jr.’s double-play partner.
“If we were going to go win a World Series, we needed Anthony Volpe on the team,” Aaron Judge said late Wednesday night. “He’s an incredible player, not only the talent he has, but to handle that type of adversity — not only from the game, not playing your best and then hearing it from fans, hearing it from everybody, and then for him to go down to Triple-A, work on what he needed to and then come up here with a bang like he did, it speaks volumes to his character and the type of grit he has.”
It was not long ago that Volpe was at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, looking like a player who might benefit from a change of scenery in a trade this offseason. It is not out of the question that the 25-year-old could still be dealt this winter, depending on how the Yankees offseason shakes out. But with Jazz Chisholm Jr. headed to free agency and unlikely to return (despite his wishes), Volpe at the very least looks like a placeholder at second base, if not something more.
In the Yankees’ five playoff games, Volpe started over Chisholm twice. The first came against Red Sox lefty Payton Tolle in Game 1 of the AL wild-card series before Chisholm’s untrustworthiness led to Volpe starting again in Game 3 of the ALDS against Rays righty Nick Martinez with the season on the line.
Aaron Boone even considered starting Volpe at third base, a position at which he has played just one career major league game, for Game 2 against the Rays before deciding not to risk his first game there on Tropicana Field’s turf coming in the playoffs (though the decision to stick with Ryan McMahon still ultimately burned the Yankees).
That Volpe was at second base for Game 3 was an indictment of Chisholm, but it also spoke to how the club believes in Volpe’s makeup, which was reinforced with how he responded to the demotion to Triple-A when he was replaced by Lombard after the trade deadline.
“Volpe, what he’s able to do, talk about facing adversity, and what’s it tell you about him and his character and his makeup and his ability?” Boone said. “The way he’s come back and the level of at-bats he’s throwing up there [in Game 3], getting off the mat.”
While Volpe hit 3-for-7 with a double and two strikeouts in his two playoff games this year, it remains a question what the Yankees could get out of him offensively next season. The demotion to Triple-A gave him the time to make some adjustments in his swing — ones he couldn’t fully make last offseason, which he spent most of rehabbing shoulder surgery — most notably using a stepback with his back foot to get him in a better rhythm.
In the 14 regular-season games he played after coming back up from Triple-A, he hit .265 with a .695 OPS, one home run and five steals. Whether there is more where that came from (meaning more than his career .661 OPS across four seasons) remains to be seen.
Volpe did look comfortable at second base, where his arm plays better and gives him more time to not have to rush plays, and it might just be his ticket to staying in The Bronx next year after a turbulent season.
“I just wanted to stay in the moment,” Volpe said late Wednesday night. “I haven’t really even gotten to think of what’s happened or what happened to me or this year, anything like that, or how to get better from it. I just always tried to stay in the moment and do what I could do every single day to make myself the best player I can be, the best teammate, the best Yankee, everything.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
