Yankees Mailbag: Volpe's struggles and the pros and cons of going all-in

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7 hours ago

Good afternoon everyone, it's time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.
torturedsoulv1 asks: Why is Volpe still the starter at shortstop? I wasn't as down on him as most seem to be until recently.
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Well, they simply don't have a starting shortstop who could compete with him right now, despite his struggles. The roster is severely limited in terms of who can man shortstop in his stead, with Oswald Peraza and his perpetually cold bat the only active player who can cover the position and Jorbit Vivas is sitting down in Triple-A in case the emergency glass needs to be broken. Suffice to say, neither one is pushing the needle on getting starting time.
However, something is seriously wrong with Volpe. The bat has remained so-so at best, putting up a 98 wRC+, but his defense and baserunning has fallen off a cliff compared to the elite performance that he put up last season. The fielding tool was the main thing carrying Volpe's longevity on the roster, but whether it's due to getting too far in his own head over his hitting or just regression overall, Volpe is struggling to contribute at all right now. The team is already in over its head needing to fix the infield with Jazz Chisholm Jr. performing far better at second than third and DJ LeMahieu continuing to look his age, so needing to remodel half of it on top of getting some pitching assistance would run a high cost in prospects. The Yankees simply need Volpe to turn it around at least in one category, and given the fact that the bat has only shown glimpses at best, the glove is their best hope to right the ship and justify his hold on the starting spot.
yankinBAMA asks: It would be unfair to Jazz to acquire another second baseman because that is his best position defensively and he has played third without a fuss. As long as DJL, and Stanton do not produce, and Judge remains in his funk, no trade will help the Yankees. Plus Schlitter will be a future ace, and should help the club this year or next.
I think the Yankees are definitely leaning towards getting a third baseman to free Chisholm's move back to second rather than replacing LeMahieu with another second baseman, but the fact that they've given him as much rope as they have in the first place is part of the reason why they've fallen in the standings as fast as they have. LeMahieu may be spent as far as comebacks go, but I wouldn't rely on Judge staying cold for too long considering the level of hitter that he is. Stanton is a bigger question mark, but he's typically due for a slow start after getting off of the IL, and given that he's managed to contribute an average 100 wRC+ in just 13 games so far I have confidence that we'll see one of his patented hot streaks where every ball is in danger of being lasered out of the park soon enough.
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All of this is to say that while morale is quite low currently, the circumstances can change in a hurry and put the Yankees in position to rebound. They can't just give up because of one poor month of play, especially considering this has been a recurring trend for a number of years now. There's time in the offseason to debate how to best avoid that in the future, but right now they have to get back in the race because this core is aging and can't afford to waste a year of contention. Judge is already 33 years old, and while he's seemingly still in the peak of his prime they can't take any of it for granted. They also have major commitments to Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and now Max Fried to be the core of this rotation for the next few years, and while Cole obviously can't assist them in this campaign the odds don't get any better if they punt the ball away and count on their later years.
Cam Schlittler has turned into a very promising prospect for the Yankees, and it's rare that they get a hyped pitching prospect with the momentum to make it to the big leagues. He's far from a guaranteed thing though (let alone a future ace), and if he or another top prospect ends up being the difference-maker on making a deal that improves the 2025 team more than they can contribute in the immediate future, the Yankees have to play ball. They've largely avoided going all in for most of these postseason runs, and now there's only so many more opportunities to try and get a ring for Judge and company.
EasyRider28 asks: How about making the last day of the All-Star break, instead of July 31st, the trade deadline? A GM meeting could be scheduled during All-Star week in the city where the game is played. Imagine the additional excitement piggybacking these activities would generate, especially in lieu of how little interest there is anymore in home-run contests, HBCU Classics, Futures Games. etc...Keep the draft, as it fits in with what would become a scurry of trade activity millions more fans would tune in to watch, than the few fans who now tune in to watch a flurry of clown shows with the Game of Baseball as their theme.
The Draft being held at the same time is the main factor that would prohibit this plan from working, as baseball's front office leaders would be running ragged splitting their attention from last-minute board adjustments to handle the phone lines for incoming trade offers. The influx of new prospects to an organization can also help them reconsider just how attached they are to the ones they already had in their system, so giving some room to digest from the draft into the final weeks of the deadline may be a bigger boon for blockbuster deals going down.
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The Trade Deadline coming at the end of July is a fine spot for the league to keep it, but I think the larger issue at hand is the field being so muddied by the amount of teams eyeing that third Wild Card spot nowadays. Especially given the success that the Phillies and Diamondbacks had going on pennant runs in back-to-back years, the mantra that 'just getting into the dance' is all you need to compete regardless of your record is looking hard to disprove. Sellers and buyers are harder to determine than ever, delaying what has usually been a month-long spree of dealmaking into a tense stare down that results in bangers just as often as it does disappointments. The All-Star break has its flaws, but compared to where other leagues like the NBA or NFL are at with their All-Star/Pro Bowl events I think MLB is sitting rather comfortably ahead of them.
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