Anthony Volpe’s second full MLB season was supposed to be his breakout. Instead, it’s turning into a cautionary tale — one now echoing loudly through the New York airwaves.
On WFAN, Chris McMonigle delivered a scathing and unfiltered assessment of the Yankees shortstop, who has been mired in a prolonged slump at the plate and error-prone on defense. “He’s in a bad spot in every part of the game,” McMonigle said. “You are seeing a bad offensive and defensive player, and a bad instinctual IQ player. That is tough to handle.”
Volpe, once heralded as the future of the franchise, is now drawing sharp criticism from fans and media alike as his .200s batting average and a recent streak of defensive lapses have cost the Yankees dearly in tight contests — most notably in their series loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, where errors and weak at-bats piled up.
McMonigle’s comments came in response to growing calls for Yankees manager Aaron Boone to shake up the lineup or consider a demotion to reset Volpe’s confidence. Boone, however, has remained publicly supportive. “We believe in Anthony,” Boone said last week. “He’s working hard. He’s grinding. He’ll find his way through it.”
But the clock is ticking. With the Yankees chasing the surging Orioles and Rays in the AL East and October hopes hanging in the balance, fans are growing restless — and Volpe’s leash might be shortening.
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Volpe, for his part, has owned up to his struggles. “I’m not playing the way I want to or the way the team needs me to,” he told reporters after a 0-for-4 performance. “But I’m going to keep showing up and putting in the work.”
Still, in New York — especially with WFAN’s microscope turned all the way up — effort is only part of the equation.
“If the Yankees want to be taken seriously,” McMonigle said, “they can’t afford to keep pretending Volpe isn’t hurting them right now.”
As the All-Star break nears, the Yankees’ front office faces tough decisions. And Anthony Volpe? He’s staring down a critical crossroads in a city where patience runs thinner than a Bronx hot dog line in July.