The New York Yankees recalled Anthony Volpe from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and placed starting shortstop José Caballero on the 10-day injured list with a middle finger fracture on his right hand, the team announced Tuesday.
Max Schuemann will get the nod at short on Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles, just as he did in Caballero’s absence during the series opener Monday.
For now, the 25-year-old Volpe is back in the majors. He started at least 147 games at shortstop for the Yankees each of the past three seasons.
Caballero, whom New York acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays at last year’s trade deadline, is slashing .259/.320/.400 with four home runs and 13 RBI this season. He hurt his middle finger while diving back to first base in the ninth inning of a defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. On Monday, before the Yankees’ loss to the Orioles, he told reporters that “it just doesn’t feel great” when he tried to throw, and that he was going to get an MRI, according to MLB.com.
Caballero’s IL designation and Volpe’s call-up arrive nine days after the Yankees optioned Volpe to the minors. At the time, Volpe’s 20-day rehab window was over, meaning New York had to either option him or activate him on the big-league roster. The Yankees opted for the former, sticking with Caballero as the club’s starting shortstop.
That decision turned heads because of how patient the Yankees have been with Volpe in the early years of his MLB career. The 2019 first-round draft pick made his major-league debut on Opening Day in 2023. While the former New Jersey high school star has lived up to his billing as a standout fielder, earning a Gold Glove Award as a rookie, he’s had significantly less success at the plate.
Volpe has yet to hit better than .243 in a season.
Last year, he played through a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder that limited him and required offseason shoulder surgery.
The 26-16 Yankees have dropped five of their past six games. They’re now second in the AL East, two games behind the soaring Tampa Bay Rays, who are 15-2 in their past 17 outings and 27-13 overall coming into Tuesday night.
That’s when New York will play the second game of its three-game series versus the Orioles, with Volpe back on the Yankees’ active roster.
