NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Volpe is getting another chance with the New York Yankees, this time at a new position.
The 25-year-old Volpe was recalled from the minors Thursday when second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. went on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Wednesday, because of a sprained right thumb.
Volpe, who lost his shortstop job in New York to 21-year-old rookie George Lombard Jr. last month, made his first major league start at second base as the
No. 9 hitter for Thursday night's series finale against Colorado. He received an enthusiastic ovation from the Yankee Stadium crowd his first time up and hit an RBI single in the second inning before stealing third base.
"I’m just ready to go, whatever the team needs. I’m excited,” Volpe said before the game.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was not in the lineup, as expected. Judge started back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday after coming off the 60-day injured list, and manager Aaron Boone had said the 34-year-old outfielder would get a night off against the last-place Rockies before the Bronx Bombers host the New York Mets in their Subway Series this weekend.
Jasson Domínguez was in right field batting third in place of Judge. The three-time AL MVP had been sidelined since the beginning of June with a fractured rib on his right side.
“I think he feels ready to play and wants to play but probably at some level understands today," Boone said. "So hopefully today’s a good recovery day for him on some level as we continue to build him up and plan on him being back in there tomorrow, obviously.”
Chisholm, meanwhile, is wearing a brace on his thumb but said the injury is “not that bad.” He thinks he'll be able to return in 10 days even though he's expected to be shut down from baseball activity for at least seven.
“It’s frustrating, but right now the goal is to win a World Series. So right now, all I’m thinking about is getting healthy and being back ready for October," said Chisholm, who got hurt on a headfirst slide Tuesday night.
“When it first happened, it just went completely numb. I didn’t have a feeling in it. So that was how come I didn’t know how bad it was until I tried to throw the baseball and couldn’t feel the ball.”
A first-round draft pick in 2019 out of a nearby New Jersey high school, Volpe won a Gold Glove as a rookie shortstop and hit 21 home runs with the Yankees in 2023. He was expected to hold down the position for years to come, but Volpe has just a .660 OPS in four big league seasons and has struggled at times on defense, drawing criticism from Yankees fans. He's a .224 career hitter with a .287 on-base percentage.
Volpe was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 4, with a plan to gain experience at other positions. He played 19 games at second base for the RailRiders and went on a recent tear at the plate.
“He’s been excellent, from all the reports from player development,” Boone said. "The double-play turn’s been excellent. So, not surprised. He’s the type of athlete that should take to that position well and so far, so good.”
In his last 28 games at Triple-A, Volpe batted .284 with 10 homers, 21 RBIs, seven doubles, 15 walks and eight steals. He compiled a 1.023 OPS after getting demoted.
“Having the mindset I wanted to get a lot out of it,” he explained. "You have a game every night, try out different stuff. Seeing what works and feeling like it’s going to translate when an opportunity like this comes. Just a lot of trial and error.”
Volpe was selected International League Player of the Week for hitting .524 with three homers, six RBIs and five stolen bases over six games from Aug. 31 to Sept. 6. He compiled a 1.674 OPS with five homers over his past eight games for the RailRiders.
“He’s done a great job down at Triple-A, really just working on a lot of things, obviously adding the position flexibility to his game. He’s done a really good job on the defensive side and been swinging the bat incredibly well for a while. So, excited to get him back up here and get him back in there," Boone said.
“Over the last several weeks, we’ve seen obviously really big results. So hopefully that starts to translate up here for him as well.”
Volpe’s season debut for the Yankees was delayed until May 13 after he recovered from surgery last October to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He entered Thursday batting .240 with one homer and 19 RBIs in 56 games with New York.
Chisholm can become a free agent after the World Series, so Volpe's opportunity at second base in a September pennant race could offer something of an audition for next season.
“More and more I think it’s important to know that when Anthony’s been here, there’s a lot of stretches of really excellent offense,” Boone said. “We’ve always maintained and feel that he’s very capable of being a good offensive player and I think he’s just gotten to a good place to where he’s in a better stretch. And hopefully getting down there and having the freedom initially to work on getting to a good place hopefully can be a springboard of him going to another level as an offensive player.”
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