Anthony Volpe to begin second base drills as Yankees weigh positional shift

Anthony Volpe is heading to second base — at least for drills. Manager Aaron Boone told reporters Friday that the Yankees will begin working Volpe at the position, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, a development that raises real questions about where the shortstop fits on the infield going forward.

What happened

With José Caballero back from the injured list, the Yankees find themselves with two infielders and one shortstop job, and the math has apparently prompted some positional creativity. Per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Boone told reporters that Volpe will begin taking second base drills — though no formal position change has been announced and the situation carries meaningful uncertainty about how it ultimately resolves.

Caballero's IL stay was brief, the result of a fracture in his right middle finger. The Yankees optioned rookie outfielder Spencer Jones the night before this report to clear roster space upon Caballero's return. Volpe, meanwhile, remained on the big league roster rather than being sent down — itself a signal of how the club views his value even when the starting shortstop job is occupied.

Caballero drew the start at shortstop Friday against Nick Martinez, at the opening of what Bryan Hoch's report describes as a big weekend series against the division-leading Rays. So for now, the lineup card reflects the pecking order Boone had previously stated. But the manager was notably less definitive about it Friday than he had been before. Where he once described Caballero as the starting shortstop, he told reporters he'll "make that decision every night" — which is the kind of language that tends to precede a rotation rather than a coronation.

Why it matters

The positional question here is genuinely interesting because of what Volpe's résumé does and does not include. Per the report, every inning he has logged at the MLB level has come at shortstop. His only second base experience on record is two games in A-ball, five years ago. That is not a deep well of reps to draw from.

And yet the report notes that it is common for shortstops to move to second base — the defensive skill sets overlap considerably, and the transition is generally considered more manageable than, say, asking a shortstop to learn a corner outfield position from scratch. The arm angle adjustments, the footwork around the bag, the different sight lines on ground balls — these are real differences, but they are differences that players with Volpe's defensive background tend to navigate.

The more pointed question is what this means for roster construction going forward. The Yankees recalled Volpe specifically to handle shortstop during Caballero's absence, and he handled that role for roughly a week and a half per the report. Now that Caballero is back, keeping Volpe on the active roster while also drilling him at a new position suggests the club sees a path where both players are on the field at the same time — rather than one of them being the odd man out every time the other is healthy.

Where the club stands

The report is clear that the Yankees are opening a weekend series against the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays, which is precisely the kind of schedule context that makes roster flexibility feel urgent rather than theoretical. Playing the team at the top of your division is not the moment you want to be sorting out who plays where; it is the moment you want to already know.

The roster mechanics behind all of this are worth understanding as general baseball context. Under standard active roster rules, clubs carry 26 players through August 31. Keeping both Volpe and Caballero on the active roster simultaneously means someone else had to go, which is why Spencer Jones was optioned. Jones, as a rookie, was the movable piece. Volpe staying while Jones departed is a clear statement of organizational priority, even if the positional question itself remains open.

Is Volpe actually moving to second base?

Not yet, per the report — drills are beginning, but no timeline has been reported for when or whether Volpe would actually appear in a game at second base. Boone's "every night" framing for the shortstop decision means there is no settled answer on whether Caballero is the unambiguous starter at short or whether Volpe could reclaim the position on a given night. The drilling at second base is preparation, not a position change.

It is also worth noting that the report does not address what happens if Caballero's finger becomes an issue again. A fracture that produced a brief IL stay is not necessarily a fracture that is fully resolved, and the Yankees may be building in contingency precisely because they have seen this situation once already.

Whether Volpe takes to second base quickly, whether Boone rotates the two players at shortstop, or whether the club eventually makes a different roster decision entirely — none of that has been reported.

What we don't know yet

The report leaves several threads open. There is no stated timetable for when Volpe might actually play second base in a game, no clarity on whether Boone intends to platoon the two players at shortstop or keep Caballero there full-time, and no reporting on how the club views this arrangement beyond the current series. Boone's language was deliberately flexible, and the desk takes him at his word on that.

The Spencer Jones optioning is also worth keeping an eye on as a separate matter. Jones was the roster casualty of Caballero's return, and his path back to the active roster depends on how the infield situation settles — or doesn't.

What to watch

The most immediate thing to monitor is whether Volpe appears in a game at second base, and if so, how quickly that happens relative to Friday's report that drills are beginning. The gap between "taking drills" and "starting at second base in a division series" can be days or weeks, and nothing in the report specifies a timeline.

Boone's nightly shortstop decision is also worth tracking across the weekend. If Caballero starts there consistently over the coming days, the second base transition becomes more pressing as the only way to keep both players in the lineup. If Boone rotates the two at short, the urgency of the positional shift decreases — at least temporarily.

The weekend series against Tampa Bay will offer an early read on how Boone is actually deploying his infield, even if the longer-term picture remains unsettled. Every inning Volpe has logged at the MLB level has come at shortstop, per the report. Two games at second base in A-ball, five years ago, is a thin foundation to build on quickly. Per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, the Yankees are apparently betting that the gap between those two data points is bridgeable — and the next few weeks will begin to show whether they are right.