ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Anthony Volpe walked into the Yankees clubhouse Sunday morning carrying a small suitcase and something else the team could use right now: cautious optimism.
The shortstop, out since October after surgery to repair a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder, is cleared to begin the next phase of his comeback. Volpe is expected to start a rehab assignment as early as Tuesday with Double-A Somerset, where the Patriots open a home series against the Reading Fightin’ Phils.
But the more significant news was not the timeline. It was what Volpe said he discovered while he was away.
Six months away and a swing that got fixed
Volpe spent the winter and early spring in Tampa rehabbing at the Yankees’ player development complex, taking live at-bats in simulated games and going through fielding drills that included diving plays. By the time he rejoined the team for Sunday’s finale in St. Petersburg, he had checked off every physical benchmark the training staff put in front of him.
But he also used the time to dismantle and rebuild the part of his game that had been the biggest source of frustration across three big-league seasons. His OPS figures of .666, .657, and .663 in 2023, 2024, and 2025 paint the picture of a shortstop with elite defensive tools who has not yet translated that potential into consistent offensive production. The shoulder forced a break. Volpe turned the break into a workshop.
Asked what he found when he stripped his swing down, Volpe was direct and specific. He described the adjustment in terms that mattered to him mechanically and explained why he believes it will make a difference.
“I just cleaned up my bat path,” Volpe said. “I’m keeping it on a plane for a lot longer. We found some stuff where it kind of went wrong.”
He also addressed how he feels about the work and whether he believes it will hold up under game conditions rather than just in the cage.
“I think the stuff we worked on is very subjective, and I feel like I can make adjustments,” he said.
Physically cleared and mentally ready
Volpe is scheduled to see Yankees team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad on Monday. Assuming nothing unexpected surfaces in that exam, the rehab assignment begins this week. Under MLB rules, position players have a maximum 20-day window for a rehab assignment. The Yankees will monitor how his shoulder responds to back-to-back game action before setting a firm return date.
Volpe described what physical milestones finally convinced him he was ready to play again. The tests he put himself through were not just mechanical but situational, the kind of movements that only happen in real game action and not in a controlled environment.
“When you check a swing and it didn’t feel like your shoulder’s gonna pop out, stuff like that,” he said. “You go in the field and you dive, you realize that’s good, too. I feel like I checked off all the rehab mental challenges and now I’m just a player getting ready to come back and help the team.”
He added that the sensor and workload data collected during his Tampa sessions gave him objective confirmation that his body was absorbing the same stress levels it would in actual games.
“I feel like I’m not really rehabbing,” Volpe said. “I feel like a normal player just doing what I’ve got to do to get ready.”
What a Volpe return means for the Yankees
The Yankees have been without their starting shortstop since the start of the season. Jose Caballero has handled the position in his absence, but his numbers tell the full story of how much the Yankees need Volpe back. Caballero is hitting .146/.196/.188 with a wRC+ of 12 through 15 games, figures that rank among the worst at any position in baseball. The Yankees’ offense has gone cold across the board during a five-game losing streak, and Caballero’s struggles at shortstop have deepened the problem at one of the most important lineup spots.
Beyond the offensive piece, the Yankees view Volpe as one of the better defensive shortstops in the game, even though last season told a more complicated story. The swing adjustment is the obvious storyline heading into his rehab assignment. But there is a second rehabilitation underway that gets less attention: his defense. In the 2024 World Series season,
Volpe ranked in the 97th percentile at shortstop with 13 Outs Above Average, one of the best defensive marks at the position in the majors. Last year he slid to minus-6 OAA, an 8th percentile finish, and led the league in errors. The Yankees have maintained the shoulder had nothing to do with that decline, but the timing invites questions the organization would prefer to answer on the field.
Volpe carries a career wRC+ of 85, which means he has produced about 15 percent below the average major league hitter across his three seasons in the Yankees lineup. That is the honest baseline. Even returning to that level at shortstop would represent a significant upgrade over Caballero’s current production. If the swing changes hold, the ceiling is higher.
The production the Yankees want him to maintain is also clear. Last season, despite the offensive inconsistency, Volpe delivered 32 doubles, 19 home runs, 72 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases in 153 games. Those are solid numbers from a shortstop. If the swing adjustment adds points to his .212 batting average from last year, the Yankees could be getting back a meaningfully improved version of the player they lost.
Manager Aaron Boone was asked about Volpe’s progress before Sunday’s game and offered a measured but positive assessment. He focused on what the past several weeks of preparation have built toward and what he expects the rehab assignment to confirm.
“How well it’s been going for him physically the last six-eight weeks and the amount of at-bats he’s been able to replicate the last 10 days [to] two weeks hopefully have set him up to hit the ground running in his rehab assignment,” Boone said. “And then we’ll go from there.”
Volpe on what he missed most
Volpe turns 25 on April 28. He has spent his birthday month rehabbing for the past two years, and the frustration of watching from the sidelines while his teammates played has not been subtle. He made clear that the isolation was harder than the physical recovery.
Asked what the experience of watching the Yankees from afar felt like, Volpe gave an answer that went beyond standard rehabilitation talk. He described the specific emotional weight of being close to a team without being able to contribute.
“You watch on TV, you can text after a game … but it’s like a helpless feeling at the same time,” he said. “That’s what you miss the most. You miss the camaraderie being with the boys. You live and die with the guys. You know what they’re trying to do. You’re watching the pitchers to imagine you’re in the box.”
The Yankees head home for a seven-game homestand starting Monday against the Los Angeles Angels. Volpe is not expected to rejoin the Yankees’ big league roster immediately, but if his body responds as he believes it will, the wait for his return should be measured in weeks rather than months.
What do you think? Will he live upto the hype this season?
