Yanks Need A Real Shortstop

The Yankees have a problem. No, not the bullpen. Not the bench. Not even third base. Their biggest problem is standing 90 feet from second base pretending everything is fine.

Anthony Volpe has become the player you’re no longer allowed to criticize because someone always has another excuse ready.

“He’ll figure it out.”

“He’s still young.”

“There’s nobody better.”

Really?

The Yankees are trying to win a World Series—not host a three-year science experiment.

Before I dive in, let me say this: I’ve got nothing against Empire Sports Media. They do a nice job covering the Yankees. We simply see this one differently.

They recently wrote in Yankees’ deadline decision at shortstop could get ugly:

“I would not make a panicked trade just to say the Yankees did something. Shortstop is not a vending machine where you drop in a prospect and get an obvious upgrade. A rental needs to be better now, fit the clubhouse and leave the club with a clean plan when Volpe is still on the roster tomorrow.”

Here’s my response…

Who said anything about panic?

This isn’t panic.

This is accountability.

The Yankees have given Anthony Volpe every opportunity imaginable. They’ve let him hit through slumps. They’ve defended his mistakes. They’ve convinced themselves—and tried convincing us—that tomorrow would always be better than today. Well… tomorrow keeps looking an awful lot like yesterday.

Empire Sports Media is right about one thing: shortstop isn’t a vending machine. True. Nobody expects Brian Cashman to press “B-12″ and have Cal Ripken Jr. fall into the slot. But that’s also a straw-man argument.

Nobody is asking for perfection. We’re asking for better. Better defense. Better at-bats. Better baseball. Because right now, “better than Anthony Volpe” isn’t exactly the highest mountain to climb.

Then came the part that really made me scratch my head.

Empire Sports Media says any move should “leave the club with a clean plan when Volpe is still on the roster tomorrow.”

But why? Who decided tomorrow has to include Anthony Volpe? That’s the flaw in the entire argument. The Yankees don’t owe Volpe a career. They owe Aaron Judge a championship. They owe Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Cody Bellinger and every veteran in that clubhouse a roster built to win now.

If Volpe can’t hold onto the job, then he loses the job. Welcome to professional sports. This organization has spent years protecting Anthony Volpe because of what he might become instead of evaluating what he actually is. That’s backwards.

You don’t hand someone baseball’s most important infield position because they were once a top prospect. You earn it.

The Yankees keep talking about “championship standards.” Great. Then start acting like it. Because championship organizations don’t keep rewarding bad baseball simply because admitting a first-round pick didn’t work out is uncomfortable.

That’s pride talking. Not baseball. Again, no disrespect to Empire Sports Media. This isn’t personal. It’s just my opinion. Anthony Volpe’s leash has become longer than his list of accomplishments, and every game the Yankees continue pretending he’s the answer at shortstop is another game they’re putting loyalty ahead of winning.

The Yankees had an obligation to upgrade the Shortstop and Catching position today.  They failed.  It’s a disgrace to this organization. 

For a franchise with 27 championships, that should never be acceptable.

My take.