The New York Yankees placed Anthony Volpe back in the starting lineup on Tuesday night at Target Field after he had been sidelined for a week. Volpe went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, one RBI, and scored twice in a 10-9 win against the Minnesota Twins.
“It felt great,” Volpe said following the game. “It was tough watching, but it was a big win. All these games are big. It felt good to get out there.”
He also contributed on defense, making a play on a ground ball up the middle in the first inning. The performance came after he appeared the previous day as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning of New York’s 7-0 loss to Minnesota.
- Volpe went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and two runs in his first start in a week, helping the Yankees defeat the Twins 10-9.
- The shortstop has been playing through a partially torn labrum since May and received his second cortisone shot of the season last week.
- With the Yankees leading the AL Wild Card race, his health and role in a “day-to-day” shortstop competition with José Caballero remain crucial down the stretch.
Shoulder Injury and Treatment
Volpe has been managing a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder since May. He aggravated the injury on September 7 during a diving stop in a game against Toronto.
The shortstop received a cortisone shot last week, his second of the season, after first undergoing the procedure at the All-Star break. He said the shots and treatments were effective this time.
“It feels like when we do all the treatments and all the stuff that actually works,” Volpe explained. “Before that, we were working on stuff, and it was either the same or obviously worse. After you do hours of treatment and rehab and stuff like that, that’s where it’s kind of frustrating. But now it feels like in a good spot where you can build day to day and get better.”
“Just where we were at in the season, there was going to be no good time to feel better,” he added. “So just doing it sooner than later was what we ended up going with. It’s going to be nice to feel good for the rest of the year.”
Boone’s Lineup Decisions at Shortstop
While Volpe recovered, José Caballero started six straight games at shortstop. Four of those starts occurred while Volpe was unavailable, and Caballero started the other two as part of what manager Aaron Boone described as a “day-to-day” decision at the position.
Boone said his decision to start Volpe on Tuesday was to reintroduce him to the mix while being mindful of Caballero’s playing time.
“Good to see him get some immediate results with a double the other way, a walk, a base hit,” Boone said. “Really good play up the middle right at the start of the game. Good to see him jump right back in and contribute.”
Before this stretch, Caballero had not started six straight games since May 2024.
Betting Odds and Market Movement
Sportsbooks currently list the Yankees at +900 to win the World Series, with that number available at FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars. Earlier in September, the Yankees were priced at +800 at some outlets, showing a slight drift in the odds.
For Thursday’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, sportsbooks posted the Yankees as -195 favorites on the moneyline, with a run line of -1.5 at -125 and a total of 9 runs. Action Network reported that 89% of public bets were placed on New York.
The projected starting pitchers are Max Fried (17–5, 3.03 ERA) for New York and Cade Povich (3–7, 5.05 ERA) for Baltimore.
Volpe’s presence also influenced individual props. At BetMGM, his over 0.5 hits prop was priced at -155, with projections showing 0.9 hits. On FanDuel, Yankees home run props were listed as Aaron Judge at +190, Giancarlo Stanton at +320, Paul Goldschmidt at +340, and Cody Bellinger at +420.
Volpe’s Season and Media Remarks
Volpe has appeared in 143 games this season, batting .208 with 19 home runs and 71 RBIs. He entered Tuesday’s game in a 2-for-21 slump, though after the All-Star break, he had batted .280 with a 1.035 OPS over a 14-game stretch.
“I feel like he’s in a good place physically,” Boone said before Tuesday’s game. “With that being said, that’s been the case most of the year. So, he’s just got to focus on what he does up at the plate and put himself in position to make good swing decisions, and hopefully click for him right away.”
Following Tuesday’s victory, Volpe spoke with YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits about the challenge of sitting out. “It’s tough to watch on the side. But I mean a lot of credit goes to the training staff and Boonie. Trying to just manage it as best as we can, and it’s just good to get out here and help the team get a win.”
When asked about adjustments during his absence, Volpe replied, “Same stuff, just finding moves that work and feel good and, yeah, helps when you feel better.”
