Volpe’s hot spring start continues
Hicks homers in loss to Rays
Anthony Volpe again stood out from the pack in the early days of the shortstop competition at Yankees camp on Saturday afternoon.
The 21-year-old finished 1-for-4 with a double during the Yankees’ 14-10 loss to the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa — including a 100 mph lineout in his fourth at-bat — and is now 5-for15 (.333) with a homer, two doubles and two stolen bases. Oswald Peraza was also featured in Saturday’s lineup as the second baseman. He went 0-for-3 and is now 2-for-9 (.222) with no extra-base hits early on.
The battle for shortstop — that still includes the incumbent Isiah KinerFalefa who is 1-for-6 on the spring — does not have a due date. Manager Aaron Boone said in his mid-game interview with the YES Network that there’s no deadline or set timeframe for making the decision on who will be manning the all-important six-hole.
The skipper mentioned earlier in the spring that the shortstop decision will not be decided strictly off of who outperforms who in Grapefruit League play. However, Boone has raved about the intangibles of MLB pipeline’s No. 5 prospect.
“He’s strong,” Boone said on Thursday. “Great lower half, stays in the ground really well. You see him sit down in his legs, and he doesn’t get cheated. You can see him drive the ball out the other way. He’s not tall, but he’s thick and pretty stout.
“I’ve got high expectations, and he’s come in and gotten after it. It’s in line with the reputation he’s earned in our organization. He works hard.”
Left field derby: The Yankees’ left field competitors came to play Saturday afternoon. Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Cabrera, Rafael Ortega and Willie Calhoun all smashed homers against the Rays.
For Hicks, his solo homer was a welcome sight after a brutal 2022 season — .642 OPS in 130 games — to see the ball flying out of Steinbrenner Field. The 33-year-old has gotten off to a strong start in his campaign to show the Bombers he still can provide value as he’s 3-for10 with a .900 OPS this spring and is motivated to make sure his name is called when the Opening Day lineup is announced.
Ortega has pushed himself through the door as a legitimate candidate to fly north with the club. The 31-year-old has gotten off to a blistering start in the early days of March. The outfielder’s two-run homer was his second of the spring and is 3-for-8 with five RBI.
Sevy so-so: Luis Severino trotted out for his second start of the spring and the results were slightly better than his debut — when he allowed four runs in two innings of work.
The 29-year-old allowed two hits and three runs while striking out six during his 2
innings of work that stretched his pitch count out to 49. The Dominican native reached 98 mph on the radar gun which is a welcome sight as he prepares for a contract season in his second fullyear off of Tommy John surgery. … Carlos Rodon will make his spring debut on Sunday afternoon against the Braves at CoolToday Park in North Port, Fla.