Anthony Volpe wins Yankees shortstop job to record four firsts

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TAMPA, Fla. — Top prospect Anthony Volpe will be a part of the New York Yankees’ Opening Day team in 2023. Following the promotion, the 21-year-old seems to be taking over as the Yankees’ starting shortstop.

Shortly after the Yankees’ game against the Blue Jays on Sunday’s spring training, the team’s leaders asked Anthony Volpe to stay. He says it’s the first time all spring that he’s felt his heartbeat. When he went to meet manager Aaron Boone, he was welcomed by bench coach Carlos Mendoza and hitting coach Dillon Lawson. General manager Brian Cashman was standing to Anthony Volpe’s left as he slid into a chair in front of Boone’s desk.

The Yankees manager provided an introduction, acting as if he was about to launch into a “difficult conversation” with bench coach Carlos Mendoza and hitting coach Dillon Lawson. That wouldn’t be the case at all.

Then, Boone slapped his desk and gave the Yankees’ top prospect a hearty handshake as he confirmed that Anthony volpe would be on the team’s Opening Day roster.

Going into spring training, Anthony Volpe was considered a long shot to win the starting shortstop position over Oswald Peraza, another top prospect, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who held the position in 2022. As Peraza faltered, Anthony Volpe flourished, winning the admiration of his superiors for his talent and maturity. He had an effect on the game in numerous ways, including his hitting, fielding, running the bases, and general demeanor.

On Sunday, the Yankees sent Peraza to Triple-A and confirmed Anthony Volpe for the opening-day roster.

“Being able to compete helped me take my mind off everything that I really couldn’t control,” Volpe said moments after Aaron Boone delivered the life-changing news. “But for it, all to come to fruition like this is pretty crazy.

“If I had a heart rate monitor on, it would be probably my max-ever heart rate.”

Anthony Volpe received the news from Boone and Cashman with a broad grin and then promptly left to make several phone calls. Even though Anthony Volpe did not play in Sunday’s victory over the Blue Jays, his parents attended the game. After exiting the tunnel, they were directed toward the first base dugout. He wrapped his arms around Isabelle and his father. They shared tears and laughter as a trio.

Anthony Volpe, MLB Pipeline’s No. 5 overall prospect, outplayed Oswald Peraza and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, the Yankees’ other shortstop candidates, and thus compelled the team to make a decision. Anthony Volpe caught the eye of the front office and veterans like Aaron Judge with a.314 (16-for-51) batting average, six doubles, a triple, three home runs, and five RBIs in 17 exhibition games.

“We entered camp with an open competition. We said it publicly and we said it privately,” Cashman said via audio released by the team. “Anthony Volpe came into camp and took this position.”

Cashman also said that Anthony Volpe showed up in Tampa on his own in September to start the process of getting the job, but it was his performance in spring training that made this an easy choice. The 21-year-old did well on both sides of the ball, slashing .314,.417, and .647 with six doubles, one triple, three home runs, five RBI, and five stolen bases.

Boone, on the other hand, said that Anthony Volpe’s “intangibles” were also important.

“He earned the respect of the veterans in the room,” the manager said in more team audio. “His work is excellent. There’s an energy he plays the game with, and an instinct that he has that’s evident. When we take a step back and evaluate, he really checked every box that we could have had for him, and absolutely kicked the door in and earned this opportunity.”

On Saturday, the Yankees’ captain totally agreed with that point of view.

“He just shows up ready to work. He’s prepared. Very rarely do you see that at such a young age,” Aaron Judge said. “He’s seemed ready to go every single game I’ve played behind him.”

Peraza, on the other hand, had trouble at the plate this spring after making a few successful starts in the major leagues last September and in the postseason. On Sunday, he was sent to Triple-A. But the 22-year-old knew Anthony Volpe would make the team before it was even announced.

“At the end of the day, we both want to play in the big leagues, and that’s why I keep going back to doing everything that we need to do to be ready for when that opportunity comes,” Peraza said after the Yankees’ Sunday win over the Blue Jays. “When you look at the results that [Volpe] has gotten, it’s really, really good results. Everybody has seen it. He has a bright future ahead of him. I can see it. Everybody can see it.”

Anthony Volpe grew up in Watchung, New Jersey, as a Yankees fan. During his childhood, he looked up to Derek Jeter. He wanted to be like the Yankees’ Hall of Fame shortstop, just like a lot of other baseball-loving kids in the area. Now, he will move around where No. 2 used to.

“I’m probably the same as a lot of kids my age, a lot of my classmates, a lot of my teammates,” Anthony Volpe acknowledged. “This was all our dream. For it to come to reality, it’s hard to put into words.

“It’s super surreal.”

Soon after Anthony Volpe’s dream came true, he and his family went to George M. Steinbrenner Field to take pictures and FaceTime his grandparents. As Sunday is the last night of spring training, he and his roommates, minor leaguers Austin Wells, Mickey Gasper, Max Burt, and Spencer Henson, had already planned a “last dinner.” Now that meal will be something to be happy about.

Anthony Volpe has only played 22 games at the Triple-A level, but his next game will be at Yankee Stadium. Once he gets back on the field, he plans to go back to being all business.

“I just want to go out there and compete and play my role on the team and help the team win,” Volpe said. “Right now, it’s crazy when I don’t even know what lies ahead, but Thursday, I just want to go out and play and have fun.”

Awaiting Anthony Volpe’s debut

If the Yankees start Anthony Volpe at shortstop on March 30, he will be the first Yankees shortstop to make his MLB debut and start on Opening Day since Jerry Lumpe in 1956. He will also be the first position player to do so since Hideki Matsui in 2003.

If Anthony Volpe gets the start on Opening Day, which appears to be a near certainty at this point, he’ll be the youngest Yankees Opening Day starter since Derek Jeter in 1996. At 21 years and 336 days, Anthony Volpe is only a little bit older than Jeter was when he made his Opening Day debut (21 years, 281 days).

The last Yankees rookie to start on Opening Day for the team was Aaron Judge in 2017. Anthony Volpe will break that streak if he becomes the Yankees Opening Day shortstop.

Anthony Volpe is the first shortstop to come through the Yankees farm system after Gleyber Torres’ 2018 debut in the post-Derek Jeter era.

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