The New York Yankees had plenty of pleasant surprises in 2025, but they also had their fair share of disappointments. The biggest flop on the entire team last season, however, arguably came from shortstop Anthony Volpe. Manager Aaron Boone, in addition to many fans, expected the 24-year-old to take a big step forward after showing a good amount of promise throughout his first two seasons. But, of course, that (for the most part) did not happen. While he did have some memorable moments and short-lived stretches of success, in the end, his successes were overshadowed by the months-long black holes that Volpe would find himself in at the plate and in the field.
The third-year shortstop certainly regressed in 2025, posting the worst defensive stats of his career while putting up another mediocre season at the plate. According to Baseball Savant, his outs above average (OAA) shot all the way down to -6 after accumulating 14 through his rookie and sophomore seasons. His slash line of .212/.272/.391 is nothing to behold, either. There are no clear signs of significant improvement, prompting the question of whether or not Volpe is really New York’s shortstop of the future.
Anthony Volpe Needs a Bounceback Year in 2026
Not All Bad
In all fairness, Volpe actually did improve in many aspects in 2025 (even if it didn’t look like it). His chase rate improved drastically, dropping 6 whole points (29.3% to 23..3%), and his barrel rate also jumped from 3.9% to nearly 10%. It doesn’t stop at Statcast metrics, though: Volpe also set career highs in RBI (72), doubles (32), and slugging (.391).
It’s also important to note that Volpe partially tore his labrum in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 3, which, in hindsight, had a huge impact on his performance, especially defensively. The Yankees’ front office dismissed the issue all season long, brushing off the occasional cortisone shots he received as “caution.” But of course, it was a problem that could not be ignored forever, as general manager Brian Cashman confirmed when he agreed with reporters after the season that the injury affected his production.
The Yankees deserve to give Anthony Volpe another chance at shortstop in 2026.@FlavaFraz21 and @ErikKratz31 explain why… pic.twitter.com/xcQjiI57xG
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) October 19, 2025
No Excuses
The Yankees’ front office should definitely take some of the blame, but Volpe’s numbers still speak for themselves. Year four has to be the year that the former first-round pick either begins to finally flourish, or the year that the Yankees resort to finding a different shortstop to build around. The Yankees have said that they expect Volpe to be 100% healthy after receiving surgery on his labrum. If he is, then there is absolutely no reason why he shouldn’t prove himself as “the guy” at shortstop. If he ends up not being that guy, then the Yankees must end their unconditional support of Volpe and acknowledge that things need to change.
The Heat Is On
As bad as the narratives surrounding Volpe make him seem, he still had a 1.7 brWAR last season. In his rookie and sophomore seasons, he put up brWARs of 3.3 and 3.4, respectively. At the end of the day, Volpe is still a decent ballplayer; the problem is that he is the shortstop of the New York Yankees. If he were to go to another team, or even switch positions, there would be much less pressure and criticism of the New Jersey native. But that’s the reality, and in 2026, Anthony Volpe will either crumble under the New York lights or blossom into their next franchise shortstop – nothing in between.
Main Photo Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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