For months, the New York Yankees watched Anthony Volpe grind through at-bats like someone trying to run in ankle-deep sand—working hard but never getting anywhere fast. Then, from September 10th to the 14th, he was sidelined entirely, his bat silent and his future uncertain as he nursed a lingering shoulder issue.
Now, the mystery behind his struggles has a name: a partially torn labrum in his shoulder, an injury first suffered back in May that has quietly haunted him all summer.
When Volpe finally returned to the starting lineup on Tuesday, it felt like a breath of fresh air in a stale room. He went 2-for-4, including a double lashed to the opposite field, scoring twice and driving in a run. For a player who has looked out of sync for much of the season, this wasn’t just a box-score boost—it was a hint of life, a flicker that maybe the version of Volpe the Yankees believed in is still in there.
A swing reborn after injury
The team at Talkin’ Yanks broke down Volpe’s new swing after his return, and what they found was striking. His mechanics had changed—subtly but meaningfully. Instead of lunging at pitches, he’s letting the ball travel deeper into the zone, staying on it longer, and shooting it to right field with authority.
As Jimmy O’Brien put it on the podcast, “The hips don’t lie… he looks so much better. He must have gone in the cage a lot, I don’t know what he did, but he went to right field with two balls. He stays with them deep, not just flailing… the actual mechanics of the swing was night and day.”
It’s unclear how much of this change is a direct response to the torn labrum, but it makes sense. A compromised shoulder can force a player to compensate. Volpe’s older swing sometimes looked rushed, almost as if he were trying to muscle the ball through pain. This version looks smoother, freer—like someone who has finally stopped fighting himself.
The gap between potential and production
Volpe’s talent has never been in question. Since his prospect days, the Yankees touted his blend of pop, speed, and competitive edge as the makings of a cornerstone player. But through three MLB seasons, the production hasn’t matched the promise. An 85 wRC+ across his career is well below league average, a jarring figure for someone once tabbed as the franchise’s shortstop of the future.
He’s tried everything—tweaking stances, overhauling timing mechanisms, adjusting swing paths—but nothing has stuck. It has felt like watching a gifted musician constantly retune an instrument that just won’t stay in key. Maybe this latest change, born out of necessity, can finally bring harmony. Maybe years of hard work will finally pay off.
The road still ahead
One encouraging night does not erase months of struggles. The Yankees know it. Volpe knows it. He’ll need more than a handful of solid games to earn back the organization’s full trust—and to convince fans that he can anchor the infield for years to come. The challenge now is sustaining this version of himself, stringing together not just good games, but good weeks and good months.
Still, there’s something different about the way Volpe looked on Tuesday: confident, fluid, and—most importantly—unburdened. If that continues, the Yankees might finally get to see the player they believed they were calling up all along. And if they do, this brief September spark could someday be remembered as the moment Anthony Volpe’s career truly took flight.