Yankees skipper Aaron Boone outlines bold strategy for Anthony Volpe in lineup

The New York Yankees struggled at the plate against the Boston Red Sox, losing three consecutive games and scoring just four runs during that stretch before winning the series finale to avoid a sweep.

Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe was one of the players to struggle the most during the Red Sox series and manager Aaron Boone dropped him from the lineup.

Volpe was dropped for the series finale against the Red Sox on Sunday with trade deadline acquisition Jose Caballero replacing him in the lineup. Boone dropped Volpe for a second consecutive game as Caballero started as the shortstop for the series opener against the Washington Nationals on Monday.

Although Volpe has been dropped for two consecutive games for the first time in his Yankees career, Boone backed the infielder as their "shortstop" and said the two-game break will help him reset.

"I view Anthony as our shortstop," Boone said ahead of Monday's game.

Boone announced that Anthony Volpe is expected to be available for Tuesday's game against the Nationals.

"He’s shown all the signs that he can be a really good offensive player," Boone said. "A little more consistency is that next wave and that’s what he’s working really hard to do, I’m confident he’ll be able to get there."

Volpe has been under fire from Yankees fans for his defensive woes and inconsistency at the plate, with many calling for Caballero to be the starting shortstop after his arrival in July.

Anthony Volpe struggled at the plate before being benched by Aaron Boone

Anthony Volpe went on a hot streak following the All-Star break, going 14-for-50 with seven homers over 14 games. However, the Yankees shortstop batted .121, going 8-for-66 at the plate and smashing just one home run in 19 games before being benched for Sunday's game.

The young infielder is slashing .208/.274/.400 with 18 home runs, 65 RBI and 15 stolen bases. He has registered his career-high for RBIs and is in line to surpass his career-best 21 home runs this season.

However, if the Yankees want to make the postseason, they will need Volpe to improve his performance at the plate in the upcoming games.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash