Anthony Volpe rejoins Yankees as a second baseman, crushes grand slam

NEW YORK — As the freshly-promoted Anthony Volpe settled into a new locker inside the Yankees’ clubhouse on Thursday, he said that he felt as if he had been in a “bubble” at Triple-A.

Not because he was stuck in the minors, but because he was focused on trying to improve his game. Volpe said he was so locked in that he didn’t even realize Jazz Chisholm Jr. sprained his thumb on Tuesday until RailRiders manager Shelley Duncan told him.

“I wanted to get a lot out of it,” Volpe, recalled on Thursday after Chisholm was placed on the 10-day injured list, said of Triple-A. “You have a game every night to try out different stuff and feel what works and feel like it’s going to translate in case an opportunity like this comes. So there was just a lot of trial and error.”

On Thursday, however, Volpe only found results, going 3 for 4 with a grand slam that broke open the Yankees’ series-sweeping, 10-3 win over the Rockies. The seventh-inning blast earned the New York native a curtain call from a crowd that has booed him plenty over the last few years.

Volpe, batting ninth, also had an RBI single and a stolen base on Thursday. He didn’t make an error while starting at second base for the first time as a big leaguer, either.

Becoming more versatile was one of the things that Volpe worked on at Triple-A, which made him a candidate to replace Chisholm.

The 25-year-old was the Yankees’ nearly-unchallenged starting shortstop from 2023-2025, but he struggled defensively while playing through a torn labrum last year, and he’s been a below average hitter throughout his career. With that in mind, the Bombers pivoted to George Lombard Jr. in early August after Volpe and José Caballero failed to solidify themselves at short this year. Volpe was demoted when Lombard was promoted, and he began playing second base while also working in some starts at third.

Previously, Volpe had not played either position since the beginning of his professional career, but Aaron Boone said he’s comfortable using him at second.

“It’s been excellent from all the reports from player development,” Boone said of Volpe’s defense at second. “The double play turn has been excellent. I’m not surprised. He’s the type of athlete that should take to that position well, and so far, so good.

“I would imagine he’s going to be very good at it.”

Volpe credited RailRiders infield and bench coach Gil Velazquez for getting him up to speed at second, a position that could help him in the long-term with Chisholm headed for free agency this offseason.

But Volpe’s biggest issue has always been his bat. The former top prospect’s .660 career OPS has left a lot to be desired — he entered Thursday with a .646 OPS this season — and he’ll have to show that he’s capable of more if he hopes to have a future in the Bronx.

Fortunately for Volpe, he rejoined the Yankees in the middle of a hot streak, and it continued against Colorado.

The International League’s reigning Player of the Week, Volpe posted a .333 average, a 1.218 OPS, eight home runs and 14 RBIs over his last 17 minor league games before hitting the Yankees’ second grand slam in as many days on Thursday. He had a five-game stretch that included five homers from Aug. 30 to Sept. 4, prompting Jasson Domínguez to recently say, “He became Barry Bonds all of a sudden.”

“I don’t know about that,” a laughing Volpe said before Thursday’s game, but he did say that he and RailRiders hitting coach Mike Mergenthaler worked on a few different things in the cage and “took a lot of swings.”

While neither Volpe nor Boone wanted to dive into any mechanical changes the righty-swinger has made, video from Triple-A shows the former setting up with his hands higher and using a backstep before loading. Volpe has also been following through with two hands on his swing, though he did say that that was more a byproduct of other tweaks than an intentional one.

Boone did note a couple of times that Volpe had more “freedom” to tinker at Triple-A. If his recent run is any indication, he made the most of that opportunity.

“We’ve always maintained and feel that he’s very capable of being a good offensive player, and I think he’s just gotten to a good place to where he’s in a better stretch,” the manager said. “And hopefully getting down there and having the freedom initially to work on getting to a good place can be a little bit of a springboard of him going to another level as an offensive player.

“We talk about trajectories not always being linear. There’s a million stories of guys that have that classic ascension. Some guys, it takes a minute. Sometimes you fall. Sometimes you get back up. So he’s got the ability to be a good offensive player, and he’s put together a pretty good run of offense right now. I feel like he’s hitting the ball with authority to all fields.”

That said, Boone didn’t want to commit to Volpe being the Yankees’ everyday second baseman with Chisholm out. The skipper called Caballero, a light-hitting, super utilityman, an “important part of this team,” so he’s looking at the position as a “day-by-day” decision.

Either way, the Yankees are hoping that Chisholm isn’t out long. While he is just beginning a 7-10-day no-throw period, he wants to be back by the time the Yankees return from their upcoming road trip to Minnesota and Arizona, which ends Sept. 20.

“I’m confident in my healing abilities,” said Chisholm, an impending free agent who has hit well over the last month but is in the midst of a disappointing season.

“He does have a history of being a fast healer,” Boone added. “You look at his injury history, and he’s kind of beat the timeline every time.”