The New York Yankees entered Wednesday with a losing record since the start of June. At the center of their slide has been poor defense.
Anthony Volpe is tied for the league lead in errors among position players and had more defensive miscues in Tuesday night’s win against the Tampa Bay Rays. Volpe made two errors in the contest, and Aaron Boone, who usually defends Volpe, admitted that he is in a defensive slump, according to The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty.
Boone was asked about potentially benching Volpe to get him out of his defensive slump, but he addressed the matter with uncertainty.
“I’m not going to answer that now,” Boone said, per Kuty. “We just ended the game.”
Boone is likely correct in refusing to make a decision on Volpe’s playing time fresh off the game. However, the fact of the matter is, the Yankees are four games back of the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East, and their supposedly sure-handed shortstop is costing them outs.
Volpe won a Gold Glove as a rookie. He does not provide much offensively, so his defense is what keeps him in the lineup. Now that he cannot even do that with consistency, the Yankees need to explore a change.
The Yankees moved Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to second base, released DJ LeMahieu and brought in Ryan McMahon, all in an effort to improve their infield defense. They may have to make another tough decision soon if Volpe cannot start making routine plays.
“We’ve got to get over it,” Boone said of Volpe’s struggles, per Kuty. “We’ve got to get through it.”
The Yankees are running out of time to right the ship. The Blue Jays are looking like a force to be reckoned with, and the Yankees cannot afford to drop further in the standings.
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