Volpe won’t be short on opportunities at SS

The Bombers have reported to a crucial spring training. Positions are up for grabs and questions need answering. Aaron Boone sat down for his opening press conference Wednesday in Tampa and added another question to the list with Frankie Montas potentially missing the entire 2023 season after it was announced the right-handed starter will undergo shoulder surgery on Feb. 21.

The Bombers are fresh off being swept by the Houston Astros in the 2022 ALCS. GM Brian Cashman has brought in a new face in Carlos Rodon — who reported to Tampa last week — and retained the face of their franchise in Aaron Judge in an attempt to close the gap.

However, the majority of the roster features familiar faces from last season. With some of those players expected to compete with prospects pushing through, the configuration of the club could look vastly different with plenty of positional questions to be answered.

STARTING WITH VOLPE?

Anthony Volpe arrived in Tampa in November shortly after receiving a call from Cashman saying, per Michael Kay, that he has a legitimate chance to be the Yankees’ Opening Day shortstop. The top-ranked shortstop and No. 5 prospect in baseball — according to MLB pipeline — is one of the reasons the Bombers have held out of the elite free agent shortstop market of past offseasons because of the Yankees’ belief of what he can become.

The 21-year-old will be competing with fellow farmhand Oswald Peraza and Isiah Kiner-Falefa beginning in a few weeks. Bombers manager Aaron Boone said he isn’t looking for anything specific from the organization’s top prospect

“If I feel like or he looks like the best option or that he’s ready to go do this then we wouldn’t be averse to doing that,” Boone said. “But I don’t think he has to do this, this or that, you got to watch and it will show itself . ... Obviously Anthony, we think is going to be great player in this league.”

Volpe, the 2021 pipeline hitter of the year, slashed .249/.342/.460 with 21 homers and 50 stolen bases last season. He was the first minor leaguer since Andruw Jones in 1995 to hit 20 homers and steal 50 bases.

GLEYBER’S OUTLOOK

Gleyber Torres has been a topic of controversy since the Yankees rumored deal to land Pablo Lopez fell through at last season’s trade deadline.

Comments from Yankees general partner Hal Steinbrenner this offseason have not exactly put out the fire as he stated that he intends to see the prospects — Volpe and Oswald Peraza — up the middle this season.

Boone still expects Torres to play a crucial role for the Bombers as he did last season.

“I expect him to be a really impactful player in the middle of our lineup,” Boone said. “I think in a lot of ways he had a really good and strong year last year. We have a guy that’s got a ton of experience that’s had a ton of success and has had some bumps in the road on the way too.”

The skipper added that he believes Torres is his second baseman going into the season but acknowledged the club has a lot of infielders. Torres slashed .257/.310/.451 with 24 homers and 76 RBI last season.

NESTOR INJURY NOT SERIOUS

After backing out of the World Baseball Classic due to a hamstring injury, Nestor Cortes is still on track to be ready for Opening Day. The southpaw has continued to run and throw and is expected to ramp up a bit this upcoming weekend.

“He’s been able to kind of keep it going,” said Boone. “Not too concerned that it’s a long-term thing and I would expect him to probably be ready to go at the start of things.

“I think he’ll be pitching for us down here [in Tampa], it’s just a matter of how much volume can we get him up to. But long-term, I think we’re OK.”

Cortes is coming off of a career season. The 28-year-old posted a 2.44 ERA in 28 starts for the Bombers last season even receiving some votes for the AL CY Young award. With Montas already down, losing Cortes would likely sound the alarms on a team that has been built around its starting pitching.

LET THE DJ PLAY

DJ LeMahieu is back and is healthy after his painful — for him and the Yankees — playoff absence due to a toe injury.

The 34-year-old opted not to get surgery on the toe and the Bombers are encouraged by what they’ve seen so far.

“Yes, [he will start the season] on time, I’m really excited about where DJ’s at,” said Boone. “Again, it’s something that we’re always playing close attention to. But he’s been in a pretty good spot for a while, he’s been down here for a while.

“He looks really good, he’s moving really well, so I know he’s excited about it but we are as well. It’s obviously something we always have to pay attention to with him and be mindful of but pretty encouraged about where he’s at right now.”

The plan may be to have Gold Glover roam around as he did last season between first, second and third base. The Bombers have always shuffled their daily lineup around LeMahieu’s versatility and don’t seem to be planning to change that.

The utility man hit .261/.357/.377 with 12 homers in 125 games last season. LeMahieu was penciled in as Boone’s leadoff hitter for the majority of last season and with few options on the roster to fill that void, he appears to be the favorite to do so again in 2023.