NEW YORK — Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran stood on second base and laughed. Duran likely could not believe that New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe gave the Red Sox a free base runner in a 1-0 game in the ninth inning.
Ceddanne Rafaela hit a groundball to shortstop that should have been an easy out for the Yankees with closer David Bednar on the mound. Instead, Volpe was unable to get any outs. Volpe fielded the ball and threw it to Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base, trying to get Duran. Duran initially broke for third base but quickly retreated. He was already on the second base bag by the time Chisholm caught Volpe’s throw. Yankees manager Aaron Boone had no qualms about his shortstop costing his club a base runner.
“It’s obviously not the right play,” Boone said. “It’s a little bit of a heady play, too. He almost caught a guy off in scoring position there, and then he doesn’t come around to score anyway. He makes a really good play on the contact play. Are we going to really dive into that one a lot? I mean, I get it. It wasn’t an out, but it’s kind of a heads-up (play). Almost got a guy napping.”
Volpe was able to throw out Duran at the plate two batters later on a failed contact play from the Red Sox, but the Yankees should not defend their shortstop’s failure to record an out in an obvious situation with the game tight. It is not a heads-up play to force a pitcher to potentially have to throw more pitches when a play is as obvious as this one was. Even Yankee great Paul O’Neill, who was on the YES broadcast, was exasperated by Volpe’s decision.
There was a minute possibility of Volpe getting Duran at second base. The only chance the Yankees had to convert the play was if Volpe had fired the throw to Chisholm, but then there’s the risk the throw goes into right field and Duran, who’s speedy, scores. The risk of a play like this one is too great in a divisional game.
“If Duran doesn’t affect the throw where he’s getting back, Jazz still might complete the play,” Boone said. “Not the right play, probably, but in some ways, a heads-up play, too.”
The Yankees have been consistent in their support of Volpe, treating him as if he can do no wrong. Their unwavering backing of him is undeserved.
Volpe has been one of the sport’s least valuable players this season. He has the third-worst wRC+ among all qualified shortstops. He’s been the ninth-worst base runner among all shortstops by FanGraphs’ base running runs above average metric. And he’s been the third-worst defender at shortstop in outs above average. His .276 on-base percentage is the third-worst among all qualified hitters in MLB. And yet, the Yankees treat Volpe as if he’s untouchable and above recourse.
Volpe heard loud boos from the sellout crowd in Friday night’s 1-0 loss after striking out on three pitches in the eighth inning. He was fooled on a changeup low and out of the zone, extending his current slump to 1-for-25. Giancarlo Stanton pinch hit for Ryan McMahon, the next batter, against right-handed reliever Garrett Whitlock. Boone was asked if he considered pinch hitting for Volpe instead.
“Whitlock being a little bit of reverse (splits), if Volpe is able to get on there, we got a base-running situation there,” Boone said. “I was debating whether to take my shot with G there or with Mac (Ryan McMahon).”
Whitlock does not have reverse splits. He has neutral splits against both righties and lefties in his career; righties have a career .670 OPS and lefties a .663 OPS. This season, righties have a .559 OPS and lefties a .553 OPS.
Volpe posted a .933 OPS in his first 14 games after the All-Star break, leading to internal belief that an adjustment he made would lead to better results in the second half. Instead, it’s followed a similar pattern from his first two seasons in which his offense has cratered after an initial surge. His OPS since those 14 games is .454.
“For a few weeks there, he really had it rolling,” Boone said Thursday. “Now, a week where he hasn’t had much going. We got to find that, because I certainly see it on both sides when he’s going well. It’s like, man, he’s starting on time. He’s in sync. He’s recognizing pitches well, and then he falls off a little bit. The biggest challenge for us and for Volpe right now is trying to get him to that next level where there’s always going to be ebbs and flows offensively. That’s the nature of the beast, but trying to tighten those up a little bit. That’s what we continue to work at.”
The Yankees have José Caballero on the bench, who has played well in limited action since being acquired at the trade deadline from the Tampa Bay Rays, but they continue to believe in Volpe. They believe he’s a well-above-average defender despite the metrics saying otherwise this season. They believe the at-bat quality isn’t as bad as it looks to everyone watching. They always say no one on this roster works harder at his craft than he does.
If that last sentence is true, should there not be some concern that, in Year 3, he has regressed in nearly every area of his game? Yet the Yankees say all is well with the former No. 1 prospect in the organization. It’s not.
(Photo: Elsa / Getty Images)
Source link
