NEW YORK — Anthony Volpe heard boos at Yankee Stadium. He watched Yankees teammates pick up his slack. He saw his name linked to trade rumors. The 24-year-old shortstop endured a brutal 2025 season that tested his standing with the Yankees and their fans.
Now a report by MLB.com believes he is about to turn everything around.
The website named Volpe the Yankees’ top bounceback candidate for the 2026 season. The prediction comes with a catch. Volpe spent most of last year playing through a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Nobody fully understood how much that injury affected him until the season ended.
MLB.com explains the selection
The website released its bounceback candidates for every MLB team this week. Volpe topped the Yankees list. The reasoning centered on his shoulder injury and his ability to stay on the field despite the pain.
“Volpe played through a left labrum tear that required offseason surgery, limiting him both offensively and defensively after a solid start to the season,” MLB.com wrote. “Even so, Volpe has been a constant presence, logging at least 153 games in each of his three Major League seasons while providing value on the bases and in the field.”
The durability stands out. Very few players can claim three consecutive seasons with 153 or more games. Volpe has done that despite playing through significant pain for more than five months in 2025.
The numbers paint a rough picture
Volpe’s 2025 stats do not flatter him. He batted just .212 with a .663 OPS across 153 games. He struck out 157 times. He committed 19 errors, tied for third most in the majors among all players.
The power was there. He smashed 19 home runs and drove in 72 runs, both career highs. He stole 18 bases. But the contact issues and defensive struggles overshadowed those positives.
Here is the key detail. Before his shoulder injury on May 3, Volpe posted a .786 OPS. After that date, he managed just a .628 OPS the rest of the season. The drop was dramatic and immediate.
Volpe has now struck out 150 or more times in all three of his MLB seasons. His career batting average sits at .222. He has never posted an OPS above league average.
The injury that changed everything
The problems started May 3 against the Tampa Bay Rays. Volpe dove for a grounder and felt a pop in his left shoulder. He missed just one game. He kept playing. He never went on the injured list.
The Yankees gave him two cortisone shots to manage the pain. One came during the All-Star break in July. Another came in September. The shoulder never fully healed. It could not heal while he kept playing.
Dr. Chris Ahmad, the Yankees team physician, performed surgery on Volpe in mid-October. The procedure repaired a partially torn labrum. General manager Brian Cashman said the damage was more severe than pre-surgery imaging showed.
“I personally think now, I’m certainly leaning more into that, yes, it was affecting him,” Cashman said after the surgery. “Because ultimately, he had to have a surgery. None of that was really on the table in-season.”
Cashman admits the injury may explain the struggles
The Yankees initially believed the shoulder was not significantly hampering Volpe. They based that opinion on feedback from the shortstop and positive test results. They were wrong.
“He didn’t have the season that we expected, that he expected, that we believe he’s capable of,” Cashman said. “His performance swings were significant this year, more so than his first two seasons.”
Cashman added that he does not believe Volpe misled anyone about the severity of his injury. The shortstop simply tried to push through it. That decision cost him offensively and defensively.
The defensive decline stood out
Volpe won a Gold Glove in his rookie season in 2023. He was a finalist for the award in 2024. In 2025, his defense fell apart. He posted minus-7 Outs Above Average and just plus-2 Defensive Runs Saved.
The interesting part involves his throwing arm. Despite the shoulder injury, Volpe actually set a career high in average arm strength at 81.9 mph. His arm run value stayed at zero, identical to 2024.
The real problem was range. His range run value cratered from plus-10 runs in 2024 to minus-5 runs in 2025. He could not cover as much ground. Balls got past him that he had caught the year before.
2026 could be judgment day
The Yankees still view Volpe as their starting shortstop. Manager Aaron Boone said Volpe will be right in the mix once he recovers. But the team has added competition at the position.
The Yankees re-signed Amed Rosario, who will get time on the infield. They still have Jose Caballero, who sparkled at shortstop after arriving at the trade deadline. Caballero could start the season at the position while Volpe finishes his recovery.
Volpe likely will not be ready for Opening Day. Boone said he can begin hitting in mid-February but cannot dive on his shoulder for six months. Cashman projects a return sometime in April or May at the latest.
Projections show modest improvement
Baseball Reference projects Volpe to hit .233 in 2026 with 16 home runs, 26 doubles, and a .687 OPS. Those numbers would represent a slight uptick from his .222 career average.
The projections still fall short of league average. But a healthy shoulder could unlock more. Volpe posted a .786 OPS before the injury. He showed what he could do when his body cooperated.
“For him to become that front-line shortstop, it has got to improve,” Boone said about Volpe’s hitting. “He understands that. We understand that.”
Volpe remains in his arbitration years. He is projected to earn $3.9 million in 2026. The Yankees have three more years of control. They have time to wait on him. But patience has limits.
If the bounceback does not happen, the New York native who grew up dreaming of wearing pinstripes might find himself wearing a different uniform. The 2026 season will tell us everything we need to know about Anthony Volpe’s future with the Yankees.
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