Yankees Have All The Reason to Keep Anthony Volpe Around After Postseason

The New York Yankees had some concerning signs throughout much of this season, and it would be unfair to say youngster Anthony Volpe wasn't one of them. 

While he has proven throughout parts of his career that he can be a decent player, for much of it he's been about average or below average. 

Saying he's been everything the Yankees have hoped for would be dishonest, though I think much of that is because the fan base doesn't have realistic expectations for any of their young shortstops. 

The harsh reality is that finding another guy like Derek Jeter will take many, many years.

There's even an argument that we'll never see another player like Jeter in a Yankees uniform, whether because it's so hard to win like that now or because of who he was on and off the field. 

As for Volpe, however, his postseason was impressive, and the organization seems to rate him higher now than when it sent him down a couple of months ago to Triple-A.

Whether that means he'll have a chance to win a job in spring training remains to be seen, though there seems to be an expectation that he will have a shot at the second base job. According to SNY, that's part of the reason why it's not crazy to suggest he needs to stay in New York this offseason.

“Stay. It’s worth keeping Volpe to see if he can compete for the second base job. In his three full major league seasons, he averaged 17 homers and 23 steals. He’s had some moments in the postseason, too. World Series grand slam, anyone?

“At worst, Volpe is a speedy utility player. MLB teams crave depth. Lombard, as impressive as he is, has only 47 games of experience in the majors, including five postseason starts. He’s 21. If he experiences some wobbles next year, it might be wise to have Volpe and José Caballero as options at short. If Volpe continues his development at third, maybe he’s a right-handed option there. Ryan McMahon, who has one more year left at $16 million, only had a .509 OPS against lefties,” Anthony McCarron of SNY wrote.

Volpe isn't a free agent or anything, but there were some slight rumors during the past couple of months, mainly when the Yankees sent him down, suggesting that he could have been traded in the offseason. 

Perhaps he's still interested in that, but it always feels like Volpe just wants to play in New York. 

He's a guy who always says the right thing, works hard, and has the talent to be an average to above-average second baseman in this game.