Suddenly The Yankees Are Suggesting Volpe Is Hurt?

I don’t buy it. Not for one second. The Yankees want us to believe that Anthony Volpe has been quietly dragging a busted shoulder around since May, and that’s the reason he’s no longer starting at shortstop. Convenient, right? This is classic Yankee gaslighting—protecting the golden child at all costs, while insulting every fan’s intelligence in the process.

And I’ll be honest, it’s gross. Not just because the Yankees are spinning a fairy tale, but because this whole saga spits right in the face of José Caballero, who has been clearly the better ballplayer. Caballero fields better, runs better, hits better—and guess what? He doesn’t need a PR machine and a billboard campaign to validate his spot on the roster. But instead of giving him the job outright, we get the Yankees’ coddle-fest for Volpe, complete with an “oops, he’s been hurt all along” bedtime story.

The Yankees never admit mistakes. Ever. They would rather bury themselves in layers of excuses than own up to the reality that Anthony Volpe isn’t the guy they promised us. They plastered his face on buses, jammed him onto every scoreboard montage, and branded him the next Jeter before he’d earned it. And now, when it’s clear he’s not measuring up, they’d rather invent a cover story than face the music.

Let’s rewind: back in May, Volpe supposedly dove and hurt his shoulder. Boone admits they MRI’d him, found a “partial labrum tear,” and still trotted him out there every day. Months go by, and only now—now—we’re suddenly hearing that he’s been battling through pain since spring? Please. If he was truly that hurt, the Yankees would’ve shut him down earlier. Instead, they kept running him out there, watched him flail at the plate and butcher plays in the field, and only after he got benched did this injury magically resurface. It’s not an explanation. It’s an alibi.

Aaron Boone shares that Anthony Volpe has been playing through a partial labrum tear:

“Nothing that we think is going to land him on the IL or nothing that he can’t continue to play through” pic.twitter.com/RfSDrQwX5j

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 11, 2025

And then there’s Boone. Oh, Aaron Boone. If there’s one thing more embarrassing than the Yankees’ obsession with Volpe, it’s Boone’s creepy devotion to him. Boone talks about Volpe like he’s a prized child in a school talent show. Every slump is excused, every error downplayed, every strikeout brushed aside with, “He’s learning, he’s battling.” It’s uncomfortable at this point—like Boone can’t let go of the fantasy that Volpe is destined to be his success story. Boone can’t quit him. In fact, Boone’s relationship with Volpe feels less like a manager-player bond and more like a dad clapping too hard at his kid’s piano recital. Enough already. Manage the team, not your adopted son.

Here’s the part that stings the most: the Yankees got too invested. They fell in love with the narrative. Hometown kid. First-round pick. Poster boy for the “Baby Bombers 2.0” dream. And once they went all-in, there was no turning back. Volpe could bat .190 and boot routine grounders, and the Yankees would still tell us he’s “grinding through it.” They don’t want a shortstop; they want a marketing campaign.

But fans aren’t stupid. We see what’s happening. So I assume that Volpe will be hidden now, tucked away under the guise of injury so the team can reboot him next year with a “fresh start” spin. The Yankees will act like 2025 never happened, as if fans didn’t boo, didn’t groan, didn’t witness the mediocrity. Spoiler: we remember. Yankee fans always remember. Ask Joey Gallo how long it takes to shake a bad reputation in the Bronx.

So sure, Volpe just got his second cortisone shot of the season. Sure, Boone insists he’s been grinding through it since May. But I’m not buying the sainthood package. My opinion of course. I see a kid who was a great high school player, hyped into a franchise savior by an organization desperate for its next Jeter. The Yankees didn’t just draft Volpe—they married him. And like every bad marriage, they’re now too embarrassed to admit it was a mistake.

Volpe isn’t the problem alone—the Yankees are. They’re so terrified of being wrong that they’ll keep coddling, keep protecting, keep spinning excuses until the whole thing collapses. And Boone? Boone will keep patting him on the head, feeding us the same tired lines about “growth” and “battling,” like we can’t see the truth with our own eyes.

Anthony Volpe may or may not be hurt. What I know for certain is that the Yankees’ credibility is on life support. And unless they stop treating Volpe like a sacred cow and start treating him like any other player who has to earn his job, the fans’ patience will run out.

We don’t forget bad players. We don’t forget organizational failures. And we sure as hell don’t forget when the Yankees treat us like fools.