Anthony Volpe, the highly-ranked young shortstop in the New York Yankees organization, has shown great promise and potential in his development. However, the challenges and pressures of professional baseball have got the better of him in the past few weeks. The rookie has been unable to generate any meaningful performance on the plate. While the defense has stayed strong, it might not be enough to keep his roster spot secure.
Recently, speculations have been doing rounds that the Yankees might demote Anthony Volpe back to Triple-A to allow him to sharpen up his skills. The rumors gained momentum after Oswald Peraza went on a home run-hitting spree in the minors, thus threatening Volpe’s roster spot. Meanwhile, Yankees top front office executives Hal Steinbrenner and Aaron Boone have dropped hints on the team’s plans regarding the rookie’s future in the season.
Hal Steinbrenner Confirms Team Is Not Mulling Anthony Volpe’s Demotion
Anthony Volpe, the Yankee’s new shortstop, is living on the edge. His recent slump has threatened his roster spot as he continues to struggle on the plate. Rumors and speculations almost suggested that Volpe would head back to minors in a few days. However, the team owner and renowned businessman, Hal Steinbrenner, has dismissed all the rumors. He said the front office had held zero discussions about Volpe’s alleged demotion. Hal explained that while the rookie has been solid defensively, he must make some adjustments on the plate to ensure offensive success. Moreover, the owner added that Anthony Volpe was not selected for the lineup on a trial basis.
The Yankees do look up to him as a long-term shortstop of the team. Also, whatever he is going through right now is nothing unusual. Hence, the team is committed to standing by him through the ups and downs. After Hal’s strong support, manager Aaron Boone also showed immense faith in the rookie. In a podcast, Boone said that irrespective of what his numbers suggest, the fact remains that Volpe has delivered match-winning moments and has been great on the bases as well. Not only that, his hitting power is good, and the kid is running like a maniac on the bases. While he did make some errors here and there but that does not take away his other accolades. Hence, for now, Anthony Volpe will stay in the major leagues as the Yankee’s top brass is far less concerned.
Can The Yankees Still Construct A Championship Winning Team Under Salary Cap?
The one thing that sets MLB apart from other sporting leagues in the world is the lack of a hard salary cap rule. Cash-rich teams, like the New York Yankees, always tend to go overboard in the off-season in pursuit of building a strong roster. But will they thrive if a hard salary cap is ruled in the future? Yes, that is what Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner believes.
At MLB’s quarterly owners’ meetings, Hal said he has no problem with a cap rule, but there have to be some ground rules. If any problem arises due to the cap rule, there has to be some floor to address it. The MLB authorities and the club owners must work together to ensure smooth operations. While Steinbrenner had his doubts, he still supported the salary cap idea to some extent.
