A notable New York Yankees insider recently explained why the team must take a radical and hard stance to try and save Anthony Volpe from a slump that has gone into a “death spiral.”
It wasn’t that long ago that Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe was viewed as the crown jewel of their farm system. In 2023 he was ranked as their top prospect on MLB.com and it’s why the New Jersey native was given the chance to win the starting job in spring training a year ago.
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However, his rookie campaign left a lot to be desired. Yet, many felt he was too talented for those struggles to continue and when he hit .293 in May and was a part of a fast start for the team, it seemed like evaluators were right. Unfortunately, things have changed drastically since the spring.
Anthony Volpe is mired in another disastrous slump at the plate and in the field. He has gone from hitting near .300 in May to having an August where he is below .200 at the dish. It has led to a great deal of frustration among the New York fan base and cries for a change.
On Monday, New York Post MLB insider Joel Sherman made the case for why the Yankees must do something radical and send their top prospect in 2023 back to the minors.
New York Yankees have not seriously considered demoting Anthony Volpe
“I think what’s important to 2024 and moving forward is Volpe. He doesn’t have slumps, he has death spirals,” Sherman said. “Volpe doesn’t have a 4-for-24, but then he’s back. He has weeks of looking absolutely lost. And he’s in the midst of it again. I would have a meeting about, would it help Anthony Volpe to go to Triple-A for two weeks. Can we survive with [Oswald] Peraza and [Oswaldo] Cabrera?
“When Volpe is in this situation we are not going to get less offensively. Do we get enough defensively for that duo to kind of play lefty-righty a little bit and then bring Volpe back?” he added. “Anthony, go down there; get it together. I don’t think I’d do it but I’d certainly have a meeting about doing it and want to hear from my senior baseball people [and] their best mission statement for or against it.”
However, for New York fans who agree with Sherman, don’t get your hopes up for change. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was asked by Sherman about possibly demoting Volpe this week. And it looks like it hasn’t even been seriously considered inside the organization.
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“We haven’t talked about it,” Cashman revealed. “I feel like, by far, we believe in him and, yes, his development continues at the major league level. There are growing pains, obviously, when you pull the ripcord on somebody’s opportunity early, which he did earn, but he’s still finding his way.
“But also he’s by far our best player at that position and you could argue he’s our best player by far in our infield.”
