Yankees

Volpe Is Back: Yankees Recall Infielder After Chisholm Thumb Injury

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Volpe Is Back: Yankees Recall Infielder After Chisholm Thumb Injury

AI Overview

The Yankees recalled Anthony Volpe from Triple-A after placing Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the 10-day injured list with a right thumb sprain. Chisholm will stop baseball activities for 7-10 days, putting his regular season in serious question with 18 games remaining. Volpe hit around .295 with 10 home runs in 28 Triple-A games and could see time at second base, while George Lombard Jr. remains at shortstop.

Anthony Volpe is back in the Bronx.

And the timing could not be more important for the Yankees.

New York recalled Volpe from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ahead of Thursday night’s series finale against the Colorado Rockies, while Jazz Chisholm Jr. was placed on the 10-day injured list with a sprained right thumb.

Chisholm injured the thumb Tuesday night while attempting to stretch a single into a double. His hand appeared to get caught around the bag during a headfirst slide into second.

He stayed in the game temporarily, but something clearly wasn’t right.

Imaging confirmed the sprain Wednesday, and Aaron Boone said Chisholm will be shut down from baseball activities for 7-10 days. The IL stint is retroactive to September 9.

That puts his regular season in serious question.

There are only 18 games remaining for the 83-62 Yankees, and Chisholm was finally starting to heat up. He was hitting .295 with an .832 OPS over his last 29 games after an inconsistent season that has him at .232 with 19 home runs, 55 RBI and an American League-leading 40 stolen bases.

Now the Yankees need somebody else to take those at-bats.

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Volpe Gets Another Opportunity

This is where things get interesting.

Volpe lost his starting shortstop job when the Yankees promoted George Lombard Jr. in early August.

Instead of sulking in Triple-A, Volpe started hitting.

The 25-year-old batted around .295 across 28 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre while crushing 10 home runs and producing the kind of offense the Yankees had been waiting to see.

He recently went on a ridiculous 6-game stretch in which he hit .524, earning International League Player of the Week honors.

Jasson Domínguez even joked that Volpe had become “Barry Bonds all of a sudden.”

Now comes the important part.

Can he bring it back to the Major Leagues?

Volpe hit only .240 with 1 home run in 56 games with the Yankees earlier this season after returning from offseason shoulder surgery.

But this version of Volpe may also be coming back with a different role.

Second Base Could Be His Opening

George Lombard Jr. isn’t going anywhere at shortstop.

The rookie just hit his first career grand slam Wednesday and continues to make his case to remain an everyday player.

That means Volpe’s opportunity is at second base, where he played 19 games during his Triple-A stint.

Boone has already said he is comfortable using him there. José Caballero will also remain an option, so this doesn’t automatically mean Volpe plays every day.

But September has a funny way of creating opportunities.

Chisholm’s injury just created one.

Now Volpe has to take advantage of it.

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