THE YANKEES MANUFACTURED SUPERSTAR PROBLEM

I know, I know… I’m the “Volpe hater.” Some of you have wanted to say it to me for years, and plenty of you already have. That’s fine. I really don’t care anymore. Opinion in journalism is how the world works.  You don't have to like it. I don't have to like certain things either.

I have said this repeatedly. Buckle up. At some point, people have to stop pretending this story is about a player earning a spot and start admitting what it actually looks like: favoritism, connections, and an organization forcing a narrative down everybody’s throat and hoping... praying that it works.

There are players who claw their way through the minors, earn every promotion, survive every slump, and force the organization to notice them. And when it happens... it feels good for everyone.

Then there are players who get treated like a VIP at a nightclub before they’ve even proven they belong inside.

After everything I uncovered in my piece, HOW YANKEE SCOUTS LOST THEIR WAY IN THE VOLPE RECRUITMENT, I’m more convinced than ever that Anthony Volpe was pushed through the Yankees organization because certain people inside the building became personally invested in proving they were right about him.

And once that happens? Logic leaves the room. Suddenly the normal standards don’t apply anymore.

A kid struggles? “Trust the process.”  A kid looks overwhelmed? “He’s adjusting.” A kid hurts the team offensively for months? “He’s battling.” Listen to Boone night after night. He fanboys this Volpe kid like a proud dad on a tee-ball field.

Meanwhile, if another kid without the friendships, relationships, and internal backing performed the exact same way, he’d be on a bus ride to Scranton before the postgame spread hit the clubhouse. That’s the truth nobody wants to say out loud. Bleeding Yankee Blue calls it like we see it and people don't like it.  Well we didn't start this blog to make friends. We started it because we are real fans. We don't trry to coddle Yankee players so we get interviews.  We don't try to be nice when the team sucks so we get access. We are grassroots and we call it like it is.  

Look, the Yankees didn’t truly develop Volpe — they protected him in my opinion. They insulated him. They marketed him. They treated him like an organizational project long before he proved he was a franchise cornerstone.

And the more I read about guys like Matt Hyde gushing over him, the worse it looks. Hyde coaching Volpe during summer ball 2 years in a row and somehow that became enough for people in the organization to treat him like baseball royalty. Damon Oppenheimer himself admitted Volpe wasn’t initially viewed as some elite can’t-miss talent internally, yet somehow the machine kicked into gear anyway because influential voices became emotionally attached to the kid. That’s not scouting. That’s politics.

Real scouting is objective. Real scouting says, “Here are the flaws. Here’s the timeline. Here’s what still needs work.”

What happened here felt more like certain people inside the Yankees desperately trying to protect their own reputations by making sure Volpe succeeded no matter how much forcing it took. This is my opinion.  And again, what message does that send?

Work hard? Maybe.

Or just hope the right executive likes you enough to move mountains on your behalf.

Don't lose your way Yankee fans. Three weeks ago, the Yankee fanbase was practically unanimous: Jose Caballero earned the job, and Volpe shouldn’t have been called back up yet. The comments are everywhere. Fans were tired of watching automatic outs buried in the lineup from Volpe while a more productive player sat.

Then fast forward. Caballero is out, Volpe is back in the majors. Volpe has a nice Sunday against the Mets. Except for when he crossed the line literally and slammed into 2nd baseman Max Schuemann ruining a legit shot at getting the runner out at home. But then he follows it with a solid game Monday against Toronto. Suddenly everybody wants to erase two years of inconsistency because he had a couple good nights in May.

That’s Yankees fandom now. Two games and amnesia kicks in I guess.

And listen — good for him. Seriously. I’m glad he’s producing. I never root for failure in pinstripes.

But with the amount of hype, protection, excuses, media shielding, and internal lobbying this kid has received since Day 1, THIS is what should be expected every single game from Anthony Volpe. Not once a week. Not in flashes. Every. Single. Game.

This isn’t some overlooked underdog story anymore. The Yankees themselves created the expectation that Anthony Volpe was supposed to become a superstar immediately. They sold that to the media. They sold it to the fans. They sold it to themselves. Boone walks around the dugout muttering "He's f'in elite" when we all know he's not. But say it enough and you start to believe your own B.S.

So don’t get angry when people hold Volpe to the standard THEY created.  And please stop with the shoulder excuse already. I’m beyond tired of hearing about the shoulder. I never bought it. In my opinion, the Yankees knew he was suffocating the lineup offensively and needed a reset without publicly admitting their prized project wasn’t working. So, they dressed it up neatly.

Call it an “injury,” slow the criticism down, buy some time, and hope people forget how bad things looked before he disappeared. That’s what it felt like to me.

And even with this recent hot streak, I still do not believe Anthony Volpe should have been handed the Yankees shortstop job. I don’t see a long-term elite shortstop. I see a utility infielder. A backup second baseman. A player with limited range, inconsistent instincts, and an organization trying to convince everybody they’re watching something generational.

Meanwhile, Jose Caballero goes out there and simply plays winning baseball.  He pressures defenses. He changes games on the bases. He gets on base more consistently. He brings versatility. He gives managers options. He looks like a player fighting to stay in the league every inning he’s on the field.

There’s a hunger to his game. With Volpe, too often it feels like the Yankees already decided who he was supposed to become years ago and now everybody else is expected to nod along.

But hey, give him another big week and the baseball world will forget everything all over again. He’ll be “back,” the scouting department will pat themselves on the back, and fans will act like a hot streak suddenly erased all the valid criticism for years.

Congrats on the heater, Volpe. Truly. Cling to it while it lasts.

GIO URSHELA TAPS OUT

Gio Urshela officially called it a career, announcing his retirement on Instagram at just 34 years old. Ten MLB seasons, eight teams, and somehow still one of the more underrated players of his era.

From breaking into the league with Cleveland in 2015 to stops with the Blue Jays, Yankees, Twins, Angels, Tigers, Braves, and Athletics, Gio quietly put together a career most players would gladly sign up for: a .270 batting average, 73 home runs, and 759 hits. Not bad for a guy many front offices seemed determined to label as “just a utility player.”

But Yankees fans knew better.

Acquired for literal cash considerations in 2018 — baseball’s version of finding a Rolex at a garage sale — Urshela became one of the biggest surprises in the Bronx. In 2019, he hit .314 with 21 home runs and 74 RBIs while playing elite defense and delivering huge moments, including clutch homers in the ALCS. He was also an AL Gold Glove finalist in 2020 and played the game like someone who genuinely loved putting on the uniform.

And that’s why so many fans never understood why the Yankees moved on from him so easily.

At the time, Brian Cashman defended the trade for Josh Donaldson by basically saying the Yankees had upgraded everywhere on the field. Yankees fans were told Donaldson was the better bat, better glove, better fit — better everything.

As we all painfully remember, that aged about as well as milk in July.

Donaldson became a total bust, Cashman was wrong, while Gio continued being exactly what he’d always been: dependable, tough, professional, and the kind of teammate willing to run through a wall for his club. Meanwhile, Urshela himself admitted he was blindsided and confused when the Yankees decided to move on. Frankly, a lot of fans were too.

Even now in 2026, the Yankees still seem obsessed with chasing the “big upgrade” while overlooking players who actually fit the heartbeat of the team. Gio was one of those guys. Never flashy. Never loud. Just solid every single day.

Yesterday, Urshela posted this message:

“Today is the day to close this chapter as a professional player, and this is not a moment to be sad, it is a moment to be grateful to God for allowing me to play this beautiful sport that changed my life.”

That says everything about who Gio Urshela was. A pro’s pro. A fan favorite. One of the good ones.

Congrats on the retirement, Gio. Yankees fans won’t forget you.

FOR THE LOVE OF THE YANKEES, A TRUE FAN PERSPECTIVE

Ladies and Gentlemen, a post from a Bleeding Yankee Blue reader, you should all take a look today. Thank you Steve.

To my frustrated fans. Let me introduce myself through my 80 years of Yankee history. I was born and raised in the Bronx. At birth, I was practically swaddled in a Yankee blue blanket. So, it began.

From ages 1-5, I knew little about baseball, but I was heavily influenced by my older cousin to become a Yankee fan — much to the dismay of his younger brother, a diehard Dodger fan. I attended my first Yankee game at age 6 with my father. There in right field was #6, who would ultimately take #7 and move to center field. The Mick. I was hooked on him and the team from that moment on.

Loving the excitement of Yankee baseball, I would attend 20-30 games a year, paying only 25 cents plus my school pass. What excitement those years were under the ownership of Topping and Webb.

Darkness and clouds arrived in 1964 with the purchase of the Yankees by CBS. The team became nothing more than their CASH COW. I persevered and still loved the Yankees, though with annual disappointment.

The clouds finally cleared when George Steinbrenner purchased the team. He was tough on players, but he loved the Yankees. He directed and spent whatever it took to build a championship team. With George’s passing, and the transfer of control to his sons — ultimately to Hal Steinbrenner — the dark clouds slowly began to roll back in.

The first problem with the Yankees, resulting in a non-championship team, is that Hal loves his NYFC and Manchester soccer interests. The Yankees are once again becoming a CASH COW for ownership.

The second problem is Brian Cashman. Yes, his budget is restricted by Hal, but he has lost his eye for young, quality talent and has resorted to band-aid fixes — mainly finding players who are nearly over the hill to fill holes.

The third problem, as most of us see it, is Aaron Boone. He is not a championship-caliber manager. Robert Casey has stated that numerous times on Bleeding Yankee Blue. He lacks natural managerial instinct. He continues to play struggling players simply because he likes them. His bullpen management is often atrocious.

The fourth problem, in my opinion, is scouting. The Yankees are no longer finding enough high-quality talent capable of thriving at the major league level.

Now the time has come to either make or break this year’s team. We need strong right-handed hitters batting .290-.300, especially at third base and shortstop. I am not a fan of Volpe there. We need to find a catcher who is not only solid defensively but also an offensive threat. Clean out the bullpen and get rid of the mediocrity. Find a true closer who can protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning.

We can only hope Boone finally understands both his strengths and his WEAKNESSES and adjusts accordingly. Move away from the automatic lefty/righty obsession. Stay away from algorithm-driven, numbers-only baseball. As a former baseball player myself (non-pro), I know that a left-handed hitter and a right-handed hitter still carry the same strike zone — only the angle changes. There is too much overthinking behind the concept, especially when you bat Goldschmidt for Rice in critical situations.

I hope these improvements are not just a pipe dream before the clouds roll back in once again. A brief break of sunshine appeared when Hal allowed Juan Soto to be signed. At least we were rewarded with a World Series appearance.

If Hal, Cashman, and Boone are not replaced or held accountable, I will once again be crying Yankee Blues.

That's my take. 

--Steve Cohen

FALLING BACK DOWN TO EARTH

The Yankees have a pattern. They start the season off strong, and then when the dog days of summer arrive they hit a wall and take a nose dive. We've seen that in July and as frustrated as I get when I see it, I still know it's likely. But....it's middle of may. We are ahead of schedule. The Yankees just dropped three series in a row we should've beaten. Are we already free falling?

We knew the bullpen needed an overhaul. Cashman made some interesting moves and back in March they were rolling and we asked DID CASHMAN FINALLY GET SOMETHING RIGHT? I said I wanted to see Camilo Doval, Jake Bird and David Bednar adapted and performed over the next six months before celebrating a good start of the season. I think we can officially say we don't need six months. We can't afford six more weeks with what is going on....

These guys are complete busts! Our "needs" list is growing longer and longer by the minute. Once again, this is not a team built to win a championship. It's a team that is going to hit a wall and come up short while the National League contenders plow through them. The Yankees need to make some moves, take on some payroll and right some wrongs here.

The bullpen trio has to go. Right now, I only trust Tim Hill. That's it! Bednar is not a real closer, and Doval and Bird are gambles that are almost a guaranteed failure. Unless our starters can go eight innings, we are setting ourselves up for a blown game like we saw last night against the Mets. These games just can't happen, especially now that our starting rotation took a hit losing Max Fried. There's just no confidence.

The Yankees also need a catcher because Austin Wells isn't it! The Yankees don't want to use Ben Rice behind the plate and honestly, I am not feeling good with Paul Goldschmidt the rest of the season getting more reps at first base. The Yankees need more stability. It's a patch job.

It's no secret Anthony Volpe is a disaster and he's back up again because Jose Caballero is injured. When Caballero is healthy again, he needs to come back to shortstop, and the Yankees just need to cut their losses with Volpe. He's not going to be our answer, maybe some other team can use him.

Honestly, the infield and the bullpen really concern me right now. These are big pieces that just have to function. The pitching and offense (when it shows up) can't make up for those voids. Championship caliber teams don't gamble like this. 

Cashman needs to fix this - because if he can't and he can't put together that winning team he doesn't belong here and the Yankees need to pull their heads out of their butts. Just like in any job, if you can't perform....it's time to move on.

This is a mess and we're all tired of it. Bandaged, flawed teams are not what we expect in the Bronx. No more mediocrity - stop the freefall! Fix it, already!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

BREAKOUT DAY FOR VOLPE BECOMES DEVASTATING MESS UP BY VOLPE

Anthony Volpe’s biggest talent right now might be convincing the Yankees organization that every disaster is somehow “growth.”

Because what happened in today's game against the Mets was not a little mistake. It was not “miscommunication.” It was not one of those harmless baseball quirks Boone loves laughing off in postgame interviews when it comes to his boy toy Anthony Volpe. It was overthinking and trying to be a hero at the worst possible moment for this high schooler. Wow.

Volpe plays shortstop for the New York Yankees like someone trying to remember instructions while assembling IKEA furniture these days. On the most important defensive play of the game, he wandered directly into Max Schuemann’s lane and blew up any realistic chance to save the game. Schumann's momentum would have taken him straight home with the throw giving the Yankees a chance.  If Volpe were to even get the ball, he would have needed to turn his body essentially running out of time and losing the game with no chance.  Everyone in the building knew it. Volpe... was trying to be a hero. It just didn't make sense.

That is Little League stuff. That is the kind of mistake coaches scream about when kids are 12 years old because by the time you reach the majors, you are supposed to understand where you are standing on a baseball field.

And yet here we are.

The most maddening part? Boone will absolutely protect him afterward. He always does. Boone treats Volpe like a fragile science project instead of a player who should be held accountable. Every brutal mistake gets wrapped in a warm blanket of excuses.

“He competed.”
“He had good at-bats.”
“He’s growing.”

"He's trying."

Enough already.

Volpe can go 3-for-4 all he wants, but if he’s physically colliding with his own teammate in the 10th inning because he lacks situational awareness, then what exactly are we celebrating here?

This is the Yankees. Not a developmental league. Not a summer camp. Boone keeps penciling him into the lineup every single day no matter how sloppy he plays, no matter how erratic the decision-making becomes, and no matter how many games get tilted because of boneheaded baseball. At some point, nonstop playing time stops being “confidence building” and starts becoming organizational negligence. Volpe is a liability.

And the worst thing Boone has done is convince Volpe that effort equals execution.

It doesn’t.

Nobody questions that Volpe plays hard. The problem is he plays reckless. There’s a difference. Diving around and sprinting into chaos does not make you fundamentally sound. Sometimes it just makes the mistakes louder. It looked like the first week when you bring all the kids out and introduce them to Tee-ball and on every hit, the flock of kids chase the ball. It was ugly.

The Yankees lost 7-6 to another last-place team because once again they played undisciplined baseball at the exact moment discipline mattered most. And once again, Boone will defend it as "we tried."

Meanwhile, the reality is ugly: Your shortstop sabotaged the final play of the game by crashing into his own second baseman.

That’s not unlucky.

That’s unacceptable.

GIVE IT A REST BOONE, IT'S TIME TO BENCH VOLPE

Let's talk about Anthony Volpe. Or more specifically, let's talk about what Anthony Volpe has not done since the Yankees brought him back from Triple-A Scranton on May 13th, because that list is considerably longer and far more interesting.

When José Caballero fractured his finger diving back to first base against the Brewers, the Yankees had no choice but to recall their former crown jewel shortstop. Why? Because Boone missed him. Caballero had been outstanding before the injury — hitting .259 with 4 home runs, a .720 OPS and 13 stolen bases in 41 games — and losing him stung. But fine, you plug the hole with the best available option, and Volpe was it according to the Yankees. I could have made an argument that you didn't need him at all, but here we are. 

And so Volpe flew into Camden Yards, got his name in the lineup for the May 13th series finale against the Orioles, and promptly went 0-for-3 with a fielding error in a 7-0 blowout loss. Not exactly the triumphant return anyone had penciled in.

After the day off May 14th, things did not improve from there. Over the next two games against the Mets in the opening weekend of the Subway Series, Volpe went 0-for-1 on Friday and 0-for-2 on Saturday. That's eleven at-bats since his recall. Zero hits. A batting average so low it would need a ladder just to reach the Mendoza Line. But Volpe walked 5 times. That's something right? Well, not really. I'll tell you why in a minute.

Now, Aaron Boone will tell you — and you can already hear him saying it in that calm, measured, Aaron Boone way of his — that Volpe has actually been seeing the ball well. That he's been patient. That the walks are a good sign. And look, technically, he's not wrong. Volpe drew three walks on Friday alone, and two more on Saturday, giving him five free passes in three games. For a guy who came up to the majors and spent the better part of two seasons hacking at anything that moved, plate discipline is growth. It's progress. It's something.

It's just that it means absolutely nothing if you never score. See what I mean?

Every single one of those five walks died a quiet death on the basepaths. On Friday in the third inning, Volpe walked to load the bases and Aaron Judge flew out to end the threat. He walked again in the fifth — stranded. Walked again in the seventh — stranded. On Saturday he walked with runners on and Austin Wells struck out to kill the inning. Then in the seventh, with the bases loaded and a chance to at least be a factor in a rally, Volpe grounded into a force out to end the inning entirely. Five walks, five dead ends, zero runs scored. He's been getting on base like a man who keeps boarding a train that never leaves the station, like his career.

The error on May 13th feels important to mention again, because it really did set the tone for this entire stretch. First game of the season, first opportunity to remind people why they once talked about this kid like he was Derek Jeter's spiritual successor, and he boots one in the field. The Yankees lost by seven. It was the kind of debut that makes you wince even if you like the guy. Volpe has been quoted as saying "I can't control what I can't control." But wait a minute little boy, you are back in the major leagues... YOU CAN CONTROL YOU DESTINY! YOU HAVE TO HIT! The dude's like a 5-year-old, was he ever media trained?

And Boone does like the guy. That much is obvious. There's a loyalty there that goes beyond the practical, it's creepy weird. The kind of managerial attachment that makes a skipper keep running a struggling player out there long past the point where the numbers justify it.

So look, here's the reality of what Volpe's 2026 has looked like: he started the year on the injured list recovering from shoulder surgery, did a rehab stint in Double-A Somerset, got sent to Triple-A, and then back to Double-A and then got yanked back to the big leagues because someone got hurt. That is not an ideal rehab runway for any player, let alone one who struggled as badly as Volpe did in 2025, when he hit .212 in 153 games and led the American League in errors with 19. The offensive questions that followed him into this offseason have not gone away. Trust you, I will remind you every day... and I will ride this kid until he's a backup 2nd baseman on the Reds. If anything, the first three games of his 2026 season have underlined them in red ink.

Zero hits. Zero runs scored. One error. Five walks that amounted to nothing. The Yankees went 2-6 on their road trip and hit a miserable 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position during the Mets series. Volpe didn't cause all of that, but he certainly didn't help. At some point, plate discipline without production is just a polite way of saying you're not doing any damage — and right now, Anthony Volpe is the least damaging baserunner in pinstripes.

Aaron Boone can talk about walks and process all he wants. The scoreboard doesn't grade on a curve, and we just broke down his performance, and it ain't good.

LIKE THIS? READ THIS:

HOW YANKEE SCOUTS LOST THEIR WAY IN THE VOLPE RECRUITMENT

WEAVER REMINDS THE YANKEES OF WHAT THEY COULD HAVE HAD

“I’m not the biggest guy in the room, but I ain’t scared of nobody.”

--Luke Weaver

Luke Weaver didn’t just expose the Yankees bullpen problem Saturday night — he was the answer they let walk out the door.

This wasn’t some overpriced superstar the Yankees couldn’t afford to keep. This was a guy they helped rebuild. A scrap-heap arm who turned himself into a bulldog in the Bronx. A “point and go” pitcher who took every role imaginable and somehow became one of the most reliable weapons Aaron Boone had when the season was hanging by a thread. Their closer.

And what did the Yankees do?

They handed out money elsewhere, watched Trent Grisham accept a one-year, $22 million qualifying offer, shrugged, and basically told Luke Weaver, “Thanks for the memories.”

Bad move, because Weaver clearly remembered.

The second he signed with the New York Mets, you just knew this matchup was circled on his calendar in permanent marker. Revenge games are real, and Weaver looked like a man who had spent months imagining this exact moment. Bases loaded. No outs. Two-run lead against his former team.

That’s either a nightmare or a movie script. Weaver made it cinema.

He punched out Amed Rosario. Then Grisham. Then he got the always-harmless Anthony Volpe to end the inning, because of course Volpe found a way to make the biggest moment disappear into a routine out. At this point, expecting a clutch hit from Volpe is like expecting New Jersey traffic to magically vanish at rush hour.

Weaver was breathing fire, too. The radar gun touched 97.6 mph — his highest velocity of the season. After one strikeout, he barked for the ball back immediately like a guy operating on pure adrenaline and spite. You could practically see the emotion pouring out of him.

And honestly? Good for him.

I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: Luke Weaver has a legitimate case for being more valuable than David Bednar. Bednar is your classic ninth-inning closer. Fine. But Weaver gives you versatility, swing-and-miss stuff, multiple innings, and better adaptability for today’s game. Managers dream about arms like that in October. The Yankees can't win in October.

Most importantly, Weaver was a teammate. A gamer. The kind of guy Yankee fans naturally gravitate toward because he looked like he genuinely loved wearing the pinstripes.

So no, don’t get it twisted — I’m still a Yankee fan through and through. But if you watched that moment Saturday night and didn’t feel even a little happy for Luke Weaver, you’re lying to yourself.

He wanted revenge, and he absolutely got it. That's what great baseball is.

HOW YANKEE SCOUTS LOST THEIR WAY IN THE VOLPE RECRUITMENT

What makes the Anthony Volpe situation so strangely controversial is not simply that he has struggled offensively. Plenty of young players struggle. The real controversy — at least in my opinion — is that the Yankees organization/scouts appear to have abandoned objective baseball evaluation entirely because certain powerful scouts and execs became personally, emotionally, and perhaps even falsely invested in Anthony Volpe long before he was ready to become the starting shortstop of the New York Yankees.  And when you carefully examine the timeline, the relationships, the private access, the nonstop internal lobbying, and the almost obsessive organizational protection surrounding Volpe, the entire situation starts to feel far less like ordinary scouting and far more like an inside operation driven by favoritism, personal loyalty, and emotional bias disguised as baseball evaluation. This is my opinion and this is what we have been trying to figure out for years.  It has never made sense to me that Volpe was the golden boy for the New York Yankees.  With all the material I have found, I lay it out for you to decide. Sure, some of this will sound like regular scouting.  But some of it, is just plain weird and in my opinion, I chalk it up as favoritism, maybe even crossing uncomfortable lines.  

Why do I say this? Because Major League organizations are supposed to evaluate players objectively, professionally, and independently — not emotionally adopt families, attach themselves to narratives, and aggressively push handpicked favorites through the system while ignoring flaws that would absolutely slow down other prospects.

MY THEORY, MY OPINION 

There seems to be that certain Yankee scouts became so personally attached to Anthony Volpe that they spotted operating like objective talent evaluators and perhaps pushed narratives because of their family relationship.  At the center of this theory are Jim Hendry, Matt Hyde, Kelly Rodman, and ultimately Damon Oppenheimer — powerful evaluators whose influence appears to have transformed Anthony Volpe from a normal prospect into an organizational cause.

And in my opinion, once that happened, the Yankees were no longer evaluating Volpe fairly. They were protecting an investment they had emotionally committed themselves to years earlier. The Yankees did not just scout Volpe, they cultivated the family. 

This is where the story immediately becomes unusual.  Before Volpe was even drafted, Yankees personnel reportedly already had unusually close access to him and his family through mutual friends and Delbarton coach Bruce Shatel, who reportedly helped facilitate introductions and meetings.  This is not normal detached scouting. That is called relationship cultivation. And there is a major ethical gray area here that people gloss over, because once scouts stop acting like evaluators and start acting like trusted family insiders, the integrity of the evaluation process becomes compromised.

Now, it is my opinion that the Yankees were no longer simply assessing Anthony Volpe as a baseball player. They were recruiting the family socially and emotionally. And that matters because once evaluators become emotionally attached to the people behind the prospect, criticism becomes almost impossible. At that point, the scouts are no longer evaluating objectively. They are protecting relationships.

JIM HENDRY’S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FAMILY LOOKS FAR DEEPER THAN ORDINARY SCOUTING

The pre-draft dinner at Roots Steakhouse may honestly be one of the most revealing moments in the entire story. According to reports, Yankees special assignment scout Jim Hendry took Volpe and his parents to dinner roughly a month before the draft. But the alarming part is not the dinner itself. It is how Hendry reportedly handled it. Instead of aggressively pitching the Yankees, Hendry reportedly focused on praising Vanderbilt University — its academics, prestige, and long-term value.

Why is that significant? Because Hendry appears to have understood that the real decision-makers were not just Anthony Volpe. It was the rich parents. Michael Volpe, a urologist. Isabelle Volpe, an anesthesiologist.

Highly educated professionals who reportedly valued education and stability. So, Hendry allegedly tailored the conversation specifically to emotionally disarm the family and gain trust. That is not traditional scouting behavior. That sounds much closer to strategic relationship management. And according to reports, it worked completely.

The communication became constant. Frequent contact with Anthony’s father. Ongoing personal conversations. A relationship that increasingly looked less professional and more familial.

Then came the most disturbing detail of all in my opinion.  When Volpe made the Opening Day roster years later, Hendry was reportedly invited to be there with the family when Aaron Boone delivered the news. That is extraordinary.

Scouts are not usually embedded into intimate family milestone moments years after the draft unless the relationship has become deeply personal. And in my opinion, once Hendry became emotionally invested in Volpe’s success, objectivity was gone. At that point, Hendry no longer had incentive to fairly evaluate Volpe. He had incentive to justify years of emotional investment and prove he was right...

And that creates dangerous bias.

MATT HYDE’S BEHAVIOR SOUNDS LESS LIKE SCOUTING AND MORE LIKE AN INTERNAL POLITICAL CAMPAIGN

If Hendry built the family trust, Matt Hyde appears to have become the chief political operator for Volpe inside the Yankees organization. And frankly, some of the reported behavior sounds wildly inappropriate for someone tasked with objective evaluation.

According to reports, Hyde watched virtually every Volpe at-bat, sent constant “Volpe’s on deck” mass texts to Yankees officials, pushed scouts to stop watching other prospects and focus on Volpe, and relentlessly marketed Volpe’s intangibles internally. That is called pushing an agenda.

That is not normal enthusiasm. That sounds like obsession. And the critical detail is this: Hyde had already coached Volpe directly for two summers before the draft. Meaning he already knew him personally. Already knew the family personally. Already believed in him emotionally before the Yankees even selected him. That creates an enormous conflict of interest. Because how can someone objectively evaluate a player they are personally attached to and publicly campaigning for?

In my opinion, they cannot. At that point, Hyde was no longer behaving like a scout. He was behaving like a promoter. Almost like a political operative inside the organization whose mission was to force the Yankees into adopting the Volpe narrative.  And according to Damon Oppenheimer’s own comments, other Yankees officials recognized how excessive Hyde’s lobbying had become. That is hugely important. Because it suggests the behavior was so relentless that even internally, people noticed it was abnormal.

DAMON OPPENHEIMER’S COMMENTS ACCIDENTALLY EXPOSE THE PROBLEM

What makes this even more questionable is that Damon Oppenheimer himself reportedly acknowledged Volpe was not viewed early on as some overwhelming physical prospect. He was reportedly seen as undersized, limited physically and lacking elite loud tools. Which raises the obvious question:

If Volpe was not universally viewed as a transcendent talent, why were certain Yankees officials pushing him with near-religious intensity? Why was there such an aggressive internal campaign? Why were evaluators seemingly emotionally attached to him before he even entered professional baseball?

Well, according to Oppenheimer, Hyde’s nonstop advocacy reportedly became almost “comical,” with internal reactions reportedly becoming: “Oh s—, here we go.”

That quote is devastating in my opinion. Why? Well, because it strongly implies Yankees personnel themselves understood Hyde was no longer operating like a neutral evaluator.

He was acting like someone emotionally obsessed with getting “his guy” into the organization.

And in my opinion, once scouting departments start functioning like that, the integrity of the process collapses.

THE YANKEES APPEAR TO HAVE CREATED A PROTECTIVE BUBBLE AROUND VOLPE

One of the strangest aspects of the entire situation is how the same organizational language followed Volpe at every stage regardless of actual performance.

Even during prolonged offensive struggles, the Yankees repeatedly used identical talking points:
“elite”
“special”
“work ethic”
“baseball IQ”
“competitor”

It almost felt scripted. As though the organization collectively agreed that Volpe’s image needed to be protected no matter what the numbers said. And in my opinion, that is what happens when organizations become emotionally invested in narratives instead of baseball reality.

The Yankees did not merely want Volpe to succeed, they NEEDED him to succeed, because too many influential evaluators had attached their reputations and egos to him years earlier.

THE YANKEES NEEDED “THE NEXT JETER” VOLPE FIT THE SCRIPT PERFECTLY

This may ultimately explain everything. After Derek Jeter, the Yankees were desperate for a symbolic successor. A homegrown shortstop, a clean-cut face of the franchise, a New Jersey kid, a marketable personality and someone easy to sell as the next eventual, "Yankees captain.” Anthony Volpe fit the screenplay perfectly. And in my opinion, the Yankees became intoxicated by the image long before the baseball fully justified it.

The organization did not simply evaluate him. They emotionally adopted the story. And once that happened, objectivity disappeared. Flaws were minimized, development concerns were ignored, timelines were accelerated and criticism became taboo. Because the Yankees had already psychologically committed themselves to making Anthony Volpe the face of the future.

THE UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTION NOBODY WANTS TO ASK

If Anthony Volpe were not Anthony Volpe — if he lacked the deep personal relationships with Hendry, Hyde, and Rodman, if he were not attached to the perfect “next Jeter” narrative, if powerful Yankees evaluators had not aggressively campaigned for him internally for years — would he have been promoted this aggressively or would he have been treated like countless other prospects with offensive flaws who spend additional years developing in Triple-A?

Because in my opinion, that is the real scandal here. Not outright corruption, but something potentially just as dangerous:

A powerful baseball organization allowing personal relationships, emotional attachment, internal politics, and narrative obsession to override objective player evaluation. And when that happens, the system stops being merit-based.

It becomes favoritism disguised as scouting.

And to many fans, Anthony Volpe increasingly looks less like a player who unquestionably earned the Yankees shortstop job through undeniable Major League readiness, and more like the beneficiary of one of the most aggressively protected internal scouting campaigns the Yankees organization has seen in years... in my opinion.

STILL WANT THE VOLPE KID? MOVE HIM TO SECOND

Let me state for the record that I don't want Volpe on the Yankees at all.  But for the sake of compromise, Boone will never part with his boy toy, so keep him in the Bronx and make him play second at least? Why? Cause Jazz sucks. Have you noticed?

Remember when our second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. announced he was gonna be a “50/50 guy”? You know… casually aiming for a club so exclusive that only Shohei Ohtani has ever actually gotten through the velvet rope.

After going 31 homers and 31 steals in 2025, Jazz rolled into his contract year talking like baseball’s version of a motivational poster. “Why not shoot for the stars and land on the moon?”

Well… the rocket appears to have exploded on the launchpad.

First, it was “too cold” in the spring. Then the bat disappeared entirely. And now? We’re 43 games into 2026 and Jazz is hitting .203 with 4 home runs and an OPS that looks like a backup catcher’s blood pressure reading. The underlying numbers somehow look worse. Weak contact, low hard-hit rate, disappearing barrels — the whole thing has turned into a masterclass in warning-track sadness.

Which brings us to the Yankees’ next ongoing science experiment: Anthony Volpe.

The Yankees are once again trying to convince the public that Volpe is a shortstop, despite half the baseball world watching him range around the infield like a guy searching for his car keys in a supermarket parking lot.

And look — if the Yankees absolutely insist on keeping him in the lineup because Aaron Boone treats him like a Make-A-Wish success story, then Volpe better start taking ground balls at second base immediately. Because the clock is ticking.

If Jazz keeps hitting like this, the Yankees are eventually going to have to make a decision by the trade deadline. Bench him? Move him? Trade him? Something has to give. And if that happens, second base suddenly becomes Volpe’s last realistic lifeboat.

Scouts have quietly said for years that Volpe’s arm fits better at second anyway. The problem is, moving him across the bag doesn’t magically fix the bat. Hitting around the Mendoza Line isn’t exactly a “position-specific issue.”

But maybe — maybe — getting him out of shortstop could help his confidence. Because right now the Yankees have managed to combine a struggling second baseman with a shortstop who probably shouldn’t be a shortstop, and somehow the solution keeps being: “Just give it another month.”

At this rate, Yankee Stadium is gonna need a support group for middle infielders.  We all hoped this season would be different didn't we? When Cashman declared this was a top caliber team, remember? Well... it's not... it's more of the same, and add in the chaos.

Jeez.

MAX FRIED OUT!

The Yankees got some unsettling news Friday, announcing that Max Fried is headed to the 15-day injured list with a bone bruise in his left elbow — never the kind of phrase fans want attached to a pitcher carrying a $218 million contract.

Fried underwent both an MRI and CT scan and was examined by team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad, while noted specialist Dr. Neal ElAttrache is also expected to review the imaging. The left-hander exited Wednesday’s start after just three innings with what the Yankees initially described as posterior elbow soreness, though the follow-up testing suggests this may be more than routine midseason discomfort.

That’s especially concerning given how important Fried has been to New York’s rotation. Before landing on the shelf, the 31-year-old was quietly putting together another excellent season, going 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA.

Fried was coming off a dominant 2025 campaign as well, posting a 19-5 record with a 2.86 ERA and 189 strikeouts over 195.1 innings — exactly the ace-level production the Yankees envisioned when they handed him an eight-year, $218 million deal during the 2024-25 offseason.

Now, New York suddenly finds itself holding its breath a bit. Carlos Rodón, Ryan Weathers, Cam Schlittler, and Will Warren remain in the rotation, while veterans Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough could be asked to stabilize the back end. Top prospect Elmer Rodriguez is also an option for a call-up.

The Yankees have enough arms to survive in the short term. But if Fried’s absence stretches beyond the minimum stay, this becomes far more than a temporary inconvenience. Much like I said in the offseason, we don't want a situation where we don't have stability in the rotation and right now it's a crap shoot with Fried out.

BOONE'S OBSESSION WITH VOLPE COULD JEOPARDIZE LOMBARD AT SHORTSTOP

There’s a growing perception among fans—and in my opinion, Aaron Boone’s continued faith in Anthony Volpe borders on an obsession that isn’t really being justified by results on the field. Volpe has shown moments where he contributes, with the occasional hit or home run, but the overall consistency, both offensively and defensively, still doesn’t look like what you expect from a locked-in major league shortstop. That concern only got louder after his return game, where he went 0-for-3 and committed an error at shortstop, reinforcing for critics the idea that the same issues keep surfacing at key moments.

The bigger frustration is how this plays out structurally within the organization. After Volpe’s rehab stint, the New York Yankees optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but the ripple effect seemed to immediately complicate the infield picture. Volpe returned to shortstop in the minors, while George Lombard Jr. was shifted around to accommodate that alignment, moving across different infield spots instead of settling into one consistent developmental track.

Boone addressed Lombard Jr.’s versatility, saying: “George[Lombard Jr.], like he’s done a lot, will bounce around. And then again, we’ll—we’ll keep revisiting this as we move through it. But George [Lombard Jr.] has already had a lot of experience playing third, second, short—all very well. So, it won’t be anything too different for George.”

From a development standpoint, that approach has raised eyebrows. Lombard Jr. is viewed by many as the more dynamic, athletic, and versatile defender, and there’s a belief among some observers that constantly shifting his position while juggling Triple-A adjustment periods may not be ideal for his long-term growth. In contrast, Volpe continues to be given a steady runway at shortstop, which fuels the perception—fair or not—that he’s being prioritized in a way that overrides pure performance evaluation.

This also feeds into a broader organizational critique of the New York Yankees’ ability to consistently develop homegrown position players over the past 20-plus years. Outside of a few clear successes like Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge, the track record is often viewed as uneven, with prospects like Oswald Peraza frequently cited as examples of stalled or complicated development paths.

Taken together, it’s created a messy infield picture: Volpe being given continued opportunity at shortstop, Lombard Jr. being asked to adapt around him, and an overall sense among fans that the development plan is becoming harder to follow than it needs to be.

We will see how this plays out, but I find it annoying and disgusting and downright weird.

THE YANKEES, STANTON INJURY PROBLEM

 

The Yankees have officially entered that part of the season where fans are screaming at Aaron Boone like he personally forgot how to swing a bat. And listen, Boone deserves heat. The guy manages bullpen games like he’s picking lottery numbers.

But the bigger issue? Giancarlo Stanton’s annual trip to the Injured List Cinematic Universe.

Because here’s the frustrating part: when Stanton is healthy, he is an absolute monster. The man does not hit baseballs. He sends them into witness protection. Pitchers suddenly start checking Zillow listings in other cities. But healthy Stanton now feels like spotting Bigfoot riding the subway. People swear it exists, but nobody sees it consistently.

This calf injury is not some harmless little setback the Yankees can brush off with “he’s progressing.” Progressing to what exactly? He is nearly three weeks into recovery and still cannot ramp up running.

That is... not ideal for a professional athlete whose job technically requires legs.

The Yankees can toss around “late May return” all they want, but right now that timeline feels like airport departure boards during a thunderstorm. Delayed, confusing, and nobody trusts it. The MRI on May 14 reportedly still did not show enough healing, which explains why Stanton is stuck doing stationary drills like a dad rehabbing after pickup basketball.

Sure, he can hit. Great. Awesome. Fantastic. But designated hitters still need to move without their calf exploding while jogging to first base. And remember, this injury happened while Stanton was running the bases in Houston — not hurdling fences, not robbing home runs, not wrestling a bear. Jogging.

That is the scary part. The Yankees desperately need his right-handed power because this lineup changes completely when Stanton is healthy. Without him, the offense can suddenly look like Judge and a collection of guys trying their best.

And this is the cycle Yankees fans are exhausted from. Every season becomes the same conversation:
“Man, if Stanton can just stay healthy…”  Meanwhile the baseball gods are already warming up the “day-to-day” graphic package.

The real issue is not simply that Stanton is hurt. It is that the recovery feels murky, slow, and weirdly familiar. No running progression this far into a calf strain is a massive red flag.  At this point, the Yankees are basically trying to operate a Ferrari with a check engine light permanently on.

Could Stanton return in late May? Sure. Could this drag into June while Boone gives vague updates that sound like hostage negotiations? Also yes.

Stay tuned for the chaos, because the Yankees somehow turned “jogging” into a season-defining event.