Volpe homers again in bid to win job
TAMPA — In his first at-bat to lead off the bottom of the first inning Friday, Anthony Volpe swung through a Pablo Lopez slider on the outer third of the plate for strike three.
From his perch next to the dugout, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was scratching his head, telling coach Luis Rojas that Volpe had gotten off the right swing, but somehow had not connected on the pitch.
To start the second at-bat against Volpe, Lopez threw him another slider in almost the exact same location.
“Well, he didn’t miss the second one,” Boone said with a grin.
Volpe continued to make his case to break camp as the Yankees’ starting shortstop, crushing a 426-foot blast to the left of the batter’s eye for his third home run of the spring.
“He went to school on it and made whatever small adjustment he needed to and really leaned on it,” Boone said.
The 21-year-old Volpe went 1-for-4 in the Yankees’ 6-4 loss to the Twins at Steinbrenner Field, finishing the day batting .277 with a .967 OPS and five steals in 16 games this spring.
The top prospect and New Jersey product drew the start behind Gerrit Cole while Oswald Peraza started at shortstop on Friday night in Sarasota, Fla., in the Yankees’ other split-squad game. Boone said not to read into their placements Friday — Peraza was playing for a third straight day so Boone wanted to give him the night game after the club’s trip back from the East Coast of Florida, he said.
The Yankees have said they could take the competition between Volpe and Peraza — Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who was part of the battle to start camp, has been phased out while becoming a utility player, without a start at shortstop since March 8 — down to the wire, with 26-man rosters not due until the morning of Opening Day, next Thursday. But Boone said Friday he “thinks” they could know by the time they leave Florida on Monday.
In the meantime, Volpe has passed up knocking on the door by continually kicking it down.
“It’s super out of my control,” Volpe, whose parents were in attendance for Friday’s game, said of the decision. “I’m just happy that I’ve been able to be in the same locker room and be in the same lineup as a lot of these guys. That alone is a highlight for me.”
Volpe insisted he has been able to block out the noise surrounding the shortstop battle and what the club might decide. He is living with four minor league teammates — Austin Wells, Mickey Gasper, Max Burt and Spencer Henson — and is focused on spending time with them away from the field.
“Whichever way it happens, everyone’s probably going separate ways [after spring training],” he said. “So we’re just trying to soak in every moment and enjoy each other’s time.”
Volpe also had a strong day in the field. The play that stood out the most came in the second inning: he made a backhanded pick on a ground ball off the bat of Kyle Garlick and unleashed a strong throw over to first base for the out.
But it was his homer off Lopez in the third inning that left the biggest impression on Cole.
“It was a really good swing, on a breaking ball, too,” Cole said. “That’s some true power right there.”
Cole came into camp curious to watch Volpe knowing all the hype that has surrounded him, noting how people talk about his character even more than his talent.
“He has had a really good spring,” Cole said. “He’s a really nice guy.”
Scouts have said, though, that the politeness is not to be confused with a lack of tenacity and competitive fire when Volpe steps onto the field. The Yankees have gotten a first-hand view of that this spring as Volpe inches closer to making their roster.
“I guess [he’s been] everything we kind of expected and hoped for,” Boone said. “He’s looked the part. He’s come in and fit in really well, his work’s been excellent, and he’s gone out and performed. So he’s put himself in the mix, certainly.”