Anthony Volpe's lack of production at the plate and poor performance in the field finally forced a move for Yankees manager Aaron Boone. The shortstop was not in the starting lineup in the finale of the four-game series with the Red Sox at the Stadium on Sunday night as the Yankees tried to avoid a sweep.
The hope was to clear his head so he can turn the page on a stretch of miserable play. It also gave him a break from the unrelenting boos that Yankees fans have been showering on him.
Jose Caballero got the start at shortstop, his second since he was acquired by the Yankees from Tampa Bay before the July 31 trade deadline. He also started at shortstop on Aug. 17 in St. Louis.
Volpe's fielding issues have been a season-long thing, and some of the miscues don't even show up in the boxscore. His throwing error in the Yankees' 12-1 loss on Saturday was his AL-leading 17th of the season. In the 1-0 loss the night before, he gave Boston an extra out in the ninth inning when he fielded a grounder and unsuccessfully tried to catch a runner off second base.
In his last 60 games, Volpe's batting average has fallen from .249 to .208. He had a .160/.214/.349 slash line in that span and was 34-for-212, although he did have 10 home runs.
Volpe looked as if he might be getting hot with the bat just after the All-Star break. He had a slash line of .298/.320/.766 and seven home runs in a 13-game stretch, with a four-hit game against the Marlins on Aug. 1.
But in the 19 games since that hot streak, he went 8-for-66 and had a .121/.171/.242 slash line. Entering play Sunday, he was in a 1-for-28 slump.
Volpe's fielding actually had appeared to be improving before this series. The error on Saturday was his first since he made three in the two games on July 29 and 30.
Boone had said after Saturday's defeat that he would consider the option of sitting Volpe for at least one day. On Sunday, he made the decision.
"Just [scuffling] a little bit offensively here over the last week [or] 10 days," Boone said of the timing. "Having Caballero now . . . [he] gives you that real utility presence that can go play anywhere, and especially go play short [with] the spark he provides. [I] just feel like today was a good day for that."
When Caballero left the ballpark on Saturday, he didn't know he would be starting at shortstop the next night. "I found out when they sent the lineup out before I came in," he said.
Caballero leads all of baseball with 40 stolen bases and has started 30 games this season at shortstop. "I like to be in the lineup whatever the position is," he said. "Shortstop is fun and fine for me."
Boone was asked if he had weighed this move against trying to let Volpe play through this slump and replied, "We're at the kind of all-hands-on-deck portion of the season" and added: "We've brought in Caballero, which changes the personnel we have [and] what we're able to do."
Caballero has delivered for the Yankees since the trade, which occurred during a game against the Rays at the Stadium. Before Sunday, he had appeared in 14 games and put up a .320/.433/.600 slash line with two home runs and six steals in seven attempts.
Notes & quotes: Reliever Fernando Cruz, out since late June with an oblique strain, is likely to come off the injured list on Monday when the Yankees open a series against the Nationals. Cruz has appeared in 32 games this season and has a 3.00 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 33 innings.