\n<\/p>\n
Anthony Volpe, who underwent left shoulder surgery last October, went 2-for-4 for Double-A Somerset on Wednesday in his 10th rehab game. That improved him to 10-for-33 (.303) in his rehab assignment. <\/span><\/p>\n But after a slow start, the current everyday shortstop has looked the part of one. <\/span><\/p>\n Jose Caballero, a 2025 trade-deadline acquisition who sparked the Yankees with his considerable abilities on the bases and slick glove at multiple positions, is hitting .267 with three home runs, a .713 OPS and 12 steals in 16 tries. <\/span><\/p>\n It has been a relatively smooth ride for the Yankees when it comes to their roster and doling out playing time. <\/span><\/p>\n Yes, there has been a mini-flareup here and there, namely the early-season platooning of Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt \u2014 though manager Aaron Boone refused to call it that even as it walked like a platoon and quacked like a platoon. But Rice, slashing .327\/.443\/.714 with 10 homers, forced the Yankees to find other ways to get Goldschmidt reps \u2014 which he needs and should get \u2014 other than simply when a \u201ctough\u201d opposing lefthander starts. <\/span><\/p>\n With Volpe about to be cleared \u2014 perhaps as early as Friday night<\/a> when the Yankees open a four-game series against the Orioles at the Stadium; if not then, certainly soon thereafter \u2014 the tough-call portion of the 2026 regular season officially will commence for the club. <\/span><\/p>\n On the surface, it isn\u2019t all that difficult. The old sports mantra about a player not losing a starting job to injury comes with the caveat that the injured player did enough to keep it. <\/span><\/p>\n By any objective measure, Volpe\u2019s first three years as the starting shortstop \u2014 which had\u00a0far more positives\u00a0than many Yankees fans are willing to credit him with \u2014 do not fit that category. That neither means Caballero will be the everyday answer the rest of the season nor that Volpe eventually won\u2019t be. <\/span><\/p>\n But starting shortstop for the Yankees isn\u2019t a lifetime appointment. And Caballero, who is 18-for-49 (.367) with two homers, two doubles and six steals in his last 14 games, has done everything the Yankees could have hoped for. <\/span><\/p>\n Are those numbers sustainable? Caballero\u2019s career to this point suggests no. He had a career .228 batting average and .316 on-base percentage in his previous three big-league seasons (2023-25). Still, his performance has done nothing to scream that he needs to come out of the everyday lineup\u00a0(though he needs to dial it down a notch with umpires). <\/span><\/p>\n Not surprisingly, the topic is one Boone has little interest in addressing until he absolutely has to. \u201cWe\u2019ll see,\u201d he said Wednesday of the plans for Volpe. \u201cHe\u2019s playing again today [in Somerset]. We\u2019ll see.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Pressed on Volpe\u2019s role once he\u2019s back, Boone went rinse-and-repeat. \u201cWe\u2019ll see,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s Wednesday. He\u2019s playing in Somerset today. We\u2019ll see.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n On April 10, general manager Brian Cashman appeared to make the club\u2019s intention clear when he was directly asked: Is Volpe the starting shortstop when he returns? <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s always been the plan,\u201d he said before <\/span><\/p>\n almost reflexively adding: \u201cBut it\u2019ll ultimately be the manager\u2019s call.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s critical to recognize that the Yankees spare no effort in casting every decision regarding the roster and how it\u2019s deployed, especially the lineup, as solely Boone\u2019s. They don\u2019t want to be viewed as operating collaboratively, which they do, the way pretty much every team does. <\/span><\/p>\n Which doesn\u2019t equate to the manager as a marionette, complete with strings manipulated from above by unseen organizational hands. <\/span><\/p>\n Discussions on Volpe-Caballero have been ongoing behind closed doors, continuing into Thursday. Not surprisingly, there is far from unanimity when it comes to opinions. <\/span><\/p>\n Boone\u2019s will carry significant weight, just not the only weight. And while there assuredly will be knee-jerk overreaction to whatever call is made, it is important to remember that five months of season remain. Volpe starting at short on May 1 doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s there Sept. 1. Same goes for Caballero. <\/span><\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s neither. Maybe it\u2019s George Lombard Jr., promoted to Triple-A earlier this week<\/a>. It\u2019s a long shot but not a no-shot. <\/span><\/p>\n The Yankees seem to be operating in a particularly cold-blooded fashion this season in some of their decision-making, and this is to their credit. <\/span><\/p>\n Doesn\u2019t make any of it any less fascinating.<\/p>\n