Anthony Volpe had probably his most Jekyll and Hyde game of the season on Tuesday.
The Yankees shortstop had two hits against the Rays in New York’s 7-5 win, including a mammoth home run that gave the team a much-needed insurance run, but his two errors overshadowed what could have cost the team the win.
Volpe’s first error came in the first inning when he had a tailor-made double play grounder hit to him, but his flip to Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second took him off the bag. That not only pushed Max Fried‘s pitch count up but also allowed the Rays to drive in two runs. The second error was more egregious. With two outs in the ninth inning and closer Devin Williams struggling, Volpe had an easy grounder hit to him. The shortstop fielded, took a few steps toward first, but shorted the throw to Paul Goldschmidt, who could not come up with the short hop. What should have been the final out of the game extended the inning and allowed the Rays to have the tying runs on base. Williams would finish off the save, but the defensive lapses from Volpe are becoming more and more of a problem.
Manager Aaron Boone called those mishaps “plays we got to finish” after the game, and was visibly frustrated with the repeated errors. The skipper was asked if he thinks the miscues are becoming a mental thing for Volpe and Boone agreed with the assessment and was critical of his young infielder.
“We got to get over it. We got to get through it,” he said. “One thing’s for certain, he’s really, really good out there. He’s clearly had some struggles, little indecisive on that last throw. It’s a short hop there, but we can’t be indecisive there. He’ll get through it, but obviously, there’s been some tough moments here. For a very talented defender, he will get through it and we have to get him there.”
Volpe said he led Chisholm too much in the first inning and the error in the ninth came about because his rhythm was off, and he needs to do a better job of hitting his target in the chest.
“I got to make those plays. That’s about it,” he said.
After the Toronto series, Boone said that the defense wasn’t good enough and alluded that he felt the team was playing tight and “not to make a mistake.”
He was asked if that is what’s happening with Volpe now and Boone said he doesn’t believe it is.
“He plays aggressively and going into this week, coming out of the Toronto series, he’s made a lot of good plays this week and we know he’s capable of that,” Boone explained. “There’s been some plays where he’s felt it a little bit. A lot of us have been in those defensive slump places, but you got to get through it, especially when you’re as capable and talented as he is out there. He’s going to grow from this, learn from it and come out on the other side and we have to get him through it.”
Volpe now has 15 errors on the season, which is the most in MLB, and just two away from his career high in 2023 when he won the Gold Glove as a rookie, and not even August. He’s a -3 OAA this season, according to Baseball Savant, a far cry from the +14 he was a year ago.
“I’ve never really experienced something like this,” Volpe said of his defensive slump. “I know what I’m capable of. It’s obviously frustrating, it’s not discouraging. I know the standard that I have for myself, and I’ll keep pushing myself to prove it to myself every day. Every day is a new day, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Boone did not answer when asked if he’s thought about benching Volpe to clear his head, but likened the off-field work to free throws in basketball. You can practice all you want, but then you have to go out there and play the game.
“You don’t want to get caught up in that, where you don’t want to make a mistake, that’s the worst place to be,” Boone said. “At the end of the day, his confidence should come from the quality of work and who he is as a defender, and that should be an elite defender.”