Yankees have Anthony Volpe issue, but Aaron Boone is keeping faith

Anthony Volpe’s defensive issues are not just becoming an issue, but a glaring problem that the Yankees have to address at some point.

The 24-year-old committed his 12th error of the season during Monday night’s 4-1 loss to the Blue Jays — an errant throw resulting in one of Toronto’s four runs in a decisive fifth inning. It was the second error committed in as many plays by the Yankees after Oswald Peraza’s throwing error allowed a Blue Jays run to score.

“I rushed the throw and pulled it,” Volpe said. “Gave [first baseman Paul Goldschmidt] a tough pick to handle.”

Volpe’s defensive regression has been stark and swift. When he won the American League Gold Glove Award as a rookie in 2023, he made 17 errors in 1,346.2 innings. He made 16 errors in 1,416.2 innings last season.

The analytics confirmed his strong defensive capabilities. His outs above average (OAA) of 1 ranked in the 71st percentile of MLB in 2023 and the 97th percentile (14) last year. Now, in 2025, he is already up to 12 in 846.3 defensive innings of work, while his OAA (-2) ranks in baseball’s 18th percentile.

With a stagnant bat — his OPS across his first three seasons is .666, .657, and .680 — the valleys are far outnumbering the peaks as of late. Yet, manager Aaron Boone is remaining steadfast in his loyalty to Volpe, at least for now.

“We’re talking about a few extra errors,” Boone said. “I get it. That’s a separator of when he wins a Gold Glove and when he doesn’t. He’s still a top shortstop. He hasn’t made a few plays that have generated a lot of noise.

“Because he hasn’t made three or four plays. That crushes you a little bit. He’s still making a lot of plays. He just hasn’t been as consistent as he has been in his first two years.”

Volpe has the luxury of not really having any sort of challenger available to snag playing time from him. With Oswaldo Cabrera out for the season and DJ LeMahieu DFA’d, Peraza is the starting third baseman until the Yankees can swing a deal at the trade deadline, while Jazz Chisholm Jr. returned to his natural position at second base.

Top prospect George Lomard Jr. has catapulted to Double-A Somerset this season, but will not figure in the big-league picture for at least a couple more years.