With regards to the Yankees’ ineptitude, there isn’t too much to discuss that hasn’t already been talked to death. On the season, they’re 20-27 without Aaron Judge in the lineup and since Judge simultaneously destroyed a fence and his toe, the team has averaged 3.8 runs per game. (For perspective, only Oakland and Kansas City have averaged fewer than 3.8 R/G this season.) Going on an individual player basis, Judge could miss the rest of the season and still be the Yankees 2023 leader in fWAR with 2.7 – Gleyber Torres, the fWAR leader on the active roster, is currently on pace for 2.5 fWAR.
So, for the sake of brevity – and our mental health – let’s focus on only one miserable aspect of the team that isn’t discussed often enough or loudly enough:
There is no baseball argument to be made for keeping Anthony Volpe as the everyday shortstop.
Volpe is currently sitting on an 82 wRC+ (IKF was a superior hitter last season and has been better this season as well, for perspective), and rather quietly, has posted the highest strikeout rate on the active roster. His defense – 11th out of 23 shortstops in Fielding Run Value and 13th out of 20 in Defensive Runs Above Average – has been acceptable but certainly not good enough to justify an 82 wRC+ in the lineup every day (more on that in a second).
And if you think that’s bad, it’s worse. According to Baseball Prospectus, which a) bases their numbers more on what the player actually did and less on outcomes, and b) is right about players’ performance far more often than not because of “a”, ranks Volpe as both the worst hitter (69 DRC+) and overall position player (zero WARP) on the Yankees’ roster*. In fact, Volpe trails Oswald Peraza (0.2) in WARP on the season.
(*If you’re thinking “that can’t be right”, I could tell you from personal experience, if I had a nickel for each time I said “that can’t be right” only to find out later that BP was in fact, 100% right, I’d have more than a few bucks in my pocket.)
Despite all of the above, and despite there being a better fielding, better throwing, better hitting option within 30’ of Volpe – Volpe is, rather remarkably, the MLB leader in games played.
It’s a situation bordering on the absurd and needs to be addressed more frequently and loudly.
Looking forward to seeing the lineup tonight, but I’ve stopped looking for pleasant surprises. (Game is on Prime Video, FYI.)
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