WHY ARE WE FORCING VOLPE ON THE NEW YORK YANKEES?

Apparently, Anthony Volpe is Barry Bonds now.

Wonderful.

Alert Cooperstown. Somebody get the plaque ready. Jasson Dominguez says Volpe has “become Barry Bonds” down in Triple-A, and while I understand a teammate pumping up another teammate, can we please come back to planet Earth for five freaking minutes?

Barry Bonds? Anthony Volpe has five homers in his last five games in Scranton. That's terrific.

Barry Bonds hit 762 home runs in the major leagues.

Small difference.

And before everybody starts screaming that I'm picking on poor Anthony again, understand something: I'm actually happy Volpe is hitting. Since being sent down, he's put up good numbers — .299/.393/.701 with 10 homers over 97 plate appearances.

Bravo. Seriously. Now leave him the hell down there.

Why is that controversial?

We've spent three years watching the Yankees try to hammer a square peg into a round hole while insisting that if they just hammer hard enough, eventually we're all going to see the superstar they promised us.

I'm tired. How many Anthony Volpe auditions does one organization get? He struggled. We waited. He struggled some more. We waited some more.

More adjustments. More patience. More Aaron Boone speeches about how Anthony is “really close.” Close to what?

Because apparently he's finally arrived — in Scranton. Maybe this isn't a comeback story. Maybe it's a discovery. Maybe we've finally located Anthony Volpe's natural habitat.

Triple-A.

Mean? Not really. This is reality. It's the article you will not read anywhere else. Sometimes honesty needs to peak through the looniness of this entire story.  Perhaps we've learned something incredibly important here.

When the lights aren't as bright, when Yankee Stadium isn't packed, when the New York media isn't hovering and when 40,000 people aren't wondering why you just chased another slider off the plate...

Anthony Volpe can rake. Great. Unfortunately, Yankee Stadium isn't moving to Scranton. The Bronx doesn't come with training wheels. Maybe New York is simply too damn big for Anthony Volpe.

It happens. Some guys walk into Yankee Stadium and become bigger. Other guys get swallowed by it. Maybe Volpe needs Miami or Kansas City. Seriously.

Send him somewhere he can play second base on a Tuesday night without every at-bat becoming a referendum on whether he's the next Derek Jeter. Let him breathe. Let him play. Let him figure himself out somewhere that doesn't require him to carry Yankee expectations around like a refrigerator strapped to his back.

Because I already know what's coming. September. Expanded rosters. Volpe keeps hitting bombs in Scranton. And somewhere inside Yankee Stadium, Aaron Boone starts getting that look in his eye. You know the look. His boy toy is hitting again. And Boone is going to want his boy toy back.

“Anthony's in a really good place right now.”

Oh, Jesus Christ. Here we go again. Boone's crush is coming home. Then we'll get the press conference.

“He's worked really hard. He's made some adjustments. We really like where he's at. He's impacting the baseball.”

Maybe Boone will even tell us he's been “elite.” They love that word over there. And before Volpe's Scranton apartment has even cooled off, Volpe will be back in the Bronx and we'll begin another exciting season of Everybody Pretend Anthony Volpe Has Finally Figured It Out.

Why?

Leave. Him. Down. There.

For once, let the kid actually develop. If he's finally comfortable, let him stay comfortable. Give him 200 more plate appearances. Give him 300. Hell call him Scranton's Captain for crying out loud!

Let him destroy Triple-A pitching until the International League files a restraining order.

There is absolutely no rule saying that because Anthony Volpe gets hot in Scranton, the Yankees must immediately drag him back to New York to see whether he can find a brand-new way to disappoint everybody.

Meanwhile, George Lombard Jr. is here and he's better anyway. So play him! Stop treating the Yankees' major-league roster like Boone's boy toy has a lifetime membership.

And please stop pretending Triple-A success means the Yankees were right about Volpe all along.

Maybe the scouts weren't completely wrong about Anthony Volpe. Maybe they just had the wrong league... on the smaller stage, without the suffocating pressure and expectations of New York, Anthony Volpe really can be a star.

Beautiful.

Then let him be the Babe Ruth of Scranton. Let him hit 40... 60.

I'll send flowers.

But until Anthony Volpe proves he can consistently hit major-league pitching, spare me the Barry Bonds comparisons. Barry Bonds terrorized major-league pitchers.

Anthony Volpe is currently terrorizing Triple-A.

Pump the freaking breaks, Jasson.

This one's for you Boh.

NEVER ROOT FOR AN INJURY… BUT SOMETIMES YOU THINK IT

You never want to see a player get hurt. Ever. Let me get that out of the way before somebody comes after me with a pitchfork.

Trent Grisham is headed to the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain, and the Yankees have recalled Jasson Dominguez from Triple-A.

That's bad news for Grisham.

But for the Yankees?

Forgive me... maybe not.

Because suddenly Aaron Boone doesn't have to perform advanced calculus trying to figure out how to squeeze everyone into the outfield. Spencer Jones has been earning his playing time, and with Grisham down, Jones should get a legitimate opportunity in center. Meanwhile, Dominguez is back, and perhaps—crazy concept here—the Yankees can actually find out what these young guys can do by playing them.

Jones has already shown flashes that scream, Don't send me anywhere. And Dominguez? I've been waiting forever for the Yankees to stop treating "The Martian" like he's classified government property.

Grisham hadn't exactly been forcing the issue lately, either. He was just 4-for-44 over his previous 14 games before landing on the IL.

So no, I'm not celebrating an injury. I hope Grisham heals quickly.

But baseball has a funny way of making decisions for organizations that refuse to make them themselves.

The Yankees have young outfielders who need at-bats. Spencer Jones needs to play. Jasson Dominguez deserves another look.

Now they have their chance.

Sometimes opportunity knocks.

Sometimes it grabs its hamstring.

Forgive me.

FAN PRESSURE BREAKS THE YANKEES. VOLPE SENT DOWN

They have nobody to blame but themselves. It is my opinion that the New York Yankees thought they could bury the story.

Late Monday night after getting embarrassed 13-7 by the St. Louis Cardinals, the organization quietly slipped out the biggest roster news of the season through YES Network's Jack Curry, long after the daily baseball news cycle had slowed down. It wasn't an accident. It was calculated.

The Yankees announced that Anthony Volpe had been optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Top prospect George Lombard Jr. was finally getting the call to become the club's regular shortstop. Jasson Domínguez was also sent back to Triple-A as part of the roster shuffle.

This wasn't just a baseball move. This was an organization finally cracking under the weight of fan pressure and years of its own failures. Let's be honest. Brian Cashman backed himself into this corner and did a horrible job at the trade deadline. After another deadline where the Yankees failed to make the kind of significant moves that could actually change the direction of this club, something had to give. The fan base has been screaming for accountability while Cashman continued to sell patience. Well, patience ran out.

George Lombard Jr. didn't suddenly become ready overnight. He's been outperforming Anthony Volpe offensively all season. He possesses the higher ceiling, the better physical tools, and frankly, he looks like the future. Everyone could see it except the Yankees, who stubbornly continued forcing the Volpe experiment long after the evidence suggested it wasn't working.

The Yankees didn't make this move because they wanted to. They made it because they had no other choice. That's the embarrassing part.

Instead of acting proactively, they waited until the pressure became unbearable. They waited until another ugly loss. They waited until fans had completely lost faith in the front office's decision-making. Then they quietly released the news after hours, hoping it wouldn't dominate headlines.

Sorry. Fans aren't stupid. This is one of the biggest organizational decisions they've made in years, and it deserves to be treated that way.

Give George Lombard Jr. credit. He's earned this opportunity. He actually earned it. Nobody handed him anything. He forced the Yankees to make this decision with his performance, not with hype, not with promises, and certainly not because anyone owed him a favor. 

That's what makes this promotion so refreshing. Lombard climbed the ladder the way prospects are supposed to—by producing. Meanwhile, Anthony Volpe spent years being sold to the fan base as the next great Yankee before he ever proved he could consistently hit major league pitching. The organization fell in love with the projection and refused to let go, even as the evidence piled up.

I have had questions about whether personal relationships and internal loyalties clouded the Yankees' evaluation of Volpe. Read HOW YANKEE SCOUTS LOST THEIR WAY IN THE VOLPE RECRUITMENT. Whether those relationships influenced decision-making or not, the perception exists because the organization kept doubling down on him long after the results stopped justifying it. Instead of letting competition determine who deserved the job, the Yankees appeared determined to make sure Volpe succeeded no matter how long it took.  This is all my opinion of course; it's just through my research. But I think I'm right.

That's the real travesty with this whole thing though. Merit seemed to take a back seat to organizational pride. The Yankees invested so much in proving they were right that they ignored what everyone else could plainly see. Volpe simply never developed into the everyday major league shortstop they promised he would become. Every player deserves a chance, but no player deserves an unlimited leash while better options waited for an opportunity. Volpe got that, it was wrong on many levels.

George Lombard Jr. didn't ask for special treatment. He earned his shot the old-fashioned way. The Yankees should have recognized that months ago instead of clinging to a failed experiment because admitting a mistake was apparently harder than fixing one.

As for Anthony Volpe, I am thrilled he was sent down. The only thing better would have been for him to be traded and out of the Yankee organization. The Yankees kept insisting he'd figure it out while ignoring what everyone else was watching. Development isn't helped by pretending struggles don't exist.

For years, the Yankees acted as if admitting they were wrong about Volpe would somehow be worse than continuing to run him out there while the offense suffered. The Yankees failed.

Now they're asking George Lombard Jr. to clean up the mess they created.  It would be the right move to allow Lombard the same leash they allowed Volpe. But listen, don't get it twisted, this move is absolutely the right one.

It also should have happened a long, long time ago.

If the Yankees are serious about changing the culture, this can't be where accountability ends. It shouldn't stop with Anthony Volpe. It shouldn't stop with one promotion.

The organization owes its fans more than a late-night announcement designed to soften the blow after another humiliating loss. They owe them honesty. They owe them urgency. And they owe them a front office willing to admit when it's wrong instead of hiding behind carefully timed press releases.

The fans forced this change. Not Brian Cashman. Not the Yankees' baseball operations department. Not ownership. The fans did. We should be proud. Us kept demanding accountability, they kept questioning the organization's blind loyalty to a failed experiment, and eventually the Yankees had nowhere left to hide.

George Lombard Jr. earned this opportunity. The Yankees simply took far too long to realize it. The only thing that would be better? Trade Volpe. Get him out of the Bronx and let's finally concentrate on baseball. 

THE YANKEES CAN'T HIDE BEHIND "WE TRIED" ANYMORE

The Yankees are out of excuses.

Every July, Brian Cashman talks about being aggressive. Every August, fans are left convincing themselves that another collection of "solid depth pieces" was somehow enough. It never is.

This deadline can't end with the Yankees adding another spare part while the contenders around them land impact players.

If the Yankees are serious about winning in 2026, Mason Miller should be at the top of their list.

Miller isn't just another reliever. He's one of the most dominant arms in baseball, routinely blowing hitters away with a fastball that averages over 101 mph and reaches 104. He's the type of pitcher who shortens postseason games and changes an entire October.

The problem? San Diego knows exactly what he's worth.

The Padres reportedly want a package that starts with top prospect Dax Kilby, and it likely wouldn't stop there. Jasson Domínguez could be part of the conversation, along with major league-ready starter Will Warren and one of the Yankees' premium pitching prospects like Ben Hess or Carlos Lagrange.

That's a steep price.

So what? Cashman's job is to negotiate and figure out what's best for them too. So, do your job!

Championships aren't won by protecting every prospect. They're won by identifying elite talent and paying what it takes to get it.

The Yankees have developed a frustrating habit of treating the trade deadline like a bargain hunt. While other contenders swing for stars, the Yankees too often settle for role players and then spend the winter explaining why the market "just didn't line up." No more excuses.

Fans don't want another press conference about how the Yankees were "in on" everybody.

Nobody hangs banners for almost making a trade.

If the front office believes this roster has a real chance to win a World Series, then prove it. Stop collecting complementary pieces. Stop worrying about losing every prospect. Make a deal, negotiate the right players. Fans are tired of this front office. We want to win.

Go get the player who actually moves the needle!

Because if this deadline ends with another round of "we tried," don't expect anyone in the Bronx to applaud the effort.

So tired of the hurry up and wait.

BYRON BUXTON ON THE YANKEES RADAR...

Allegedly!

The Yankees' outfield problem went from concerning to critical in a matter of days.

Cody Bellinger's strained left hamstring couldn't have come at a worse time. Already without Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees are now missing another key piece of an offense that's been hanging on by sheer determination. They've managed to keep winning, but anyone watching this team knows the margin for error is getting smaller by the day.

That's why Brian Cashman can't afford to sit back as the trade deadline approaches.

The Yankees have been connected to several outfielders in recent weeks, but one name continues to stand above the rest: Byron Buxton.

ESPN's Buster Olney and other baseball insiders have identified the Minnesota Twins' All-Star center fielder as an ideal fit for a Yankees club desperately searching for another impact bat. It's easy to understand why.

Buxton is putting together one of the finest seasons of his career, hitting .271 with 25 home runs, 45 RBIs and an OPS north of .850. His production earned him a starting spot in the American League All-Star Game, but his value extends well beyond the numbers.

He brings athleticism, speed and elite defense to center field—qualities the Yankees desperately need. While Trent Grisham has done an admirable and Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones are still adjusting, Buxton would immediately elevate the position on both sides of the ball. He changes games with his glove, creates havoc on the bases and adds another dangerous right-handed bat capable of lengthening a lineup that has become far too dependent on role players.

That dependence has become impossible to ignore. The Yankees know it. Their front office knows it. And the rest of us fans know it too.

The biggest obstacle isn't determining whether Buxton would fit in New York. It's convincing Minnesota to move him. My opinion of course. I like this alot.

Buxton holds a full no-trade clause, giving him complete control over his future, and Twins officials have publicly stated they have no plans to part with one of their franchise cornerstones. If the Yankees want to make something happen, it would almost certainly require a significant package of prospects and Buxton's willingness to waive his protection.

That's a difficult conversation.  But championship-caliber players rarely become available without difficult conversations. Can we ship out Volpe?

With the August 3 trade deadline rapidly approaching, the Yankees have reached a difficult spot. They can hope their stars return quickly and their current roster continues to outperform expectations, or they can aggressively pursue an impact player capable of changing the trajectory of their season.

History has shown that standing still at the deadline rarely wins championships. Just look at the Yankees.

If the Yankees truly believe this roster is built to make a deep October run, this is the moment to act boldly. Whether Byron Buxton ultimately becomes available remains uncertain, but one thing isn't.

The Yankees don't just need another outfielder. They need another bat and athlete. They need someone who can change the conversation.

YANKS DO THEIR TYPICAL LOSS/WIN SPLIT

You want to know what's exhausting about this Yankees team? It's not that they lose. Baseball teams lose. Even good ones. It's how they lose.

The Yankees split Wednesday's doubleheader against the Pirates, dropping Game 1 in painful fashion before bouncing back with a crisp 2-0 win in the nightcap. That's the kind of split that leaves fans feeling more frustrated than satisfied because the opener never should have slipped away.

Let's start with the obvious. Max Fried is exactly what the Yankees needed. Forget the final score of the second game for a minute.

The biggest win of the day wasn't just another number in the standings—it was watching Max Fried look like Max Fried again.

After missing time with an elbow bone bruise, Fried walked back onto that mound like he never left. Five scoreless innings. One hit. Seven strikeouts. Complete command.

No rust. No excuses. Just dominance.

He attacked hitters, trusted his stuff, and retired the final 12 batters he faced. That's what aces do.

When Fried is healthy, this Yankees rotation becomes a completely different animal. He changes the complexion of every series, every playoff conversation, and every expectation.

Welcome back, Max. The Yankees desperately missed you. Oh, and if there's one player who deserves more recognition, it's Ben Rice. His three-run blast in Game 1 completely changed the momentum and rescued what looked like another lifeless offensive performance. Without Rice, that game isn't even close enough to reach extra innings. He delivered when the Yankees absolutely needed someone to wake up a sleeping offense.

That's becoming a trend. Rice doesn't seem overwhelmed. He doesn't seem afraid of the moment. He simply plays baseball, and right now he's giving this club far more production than several veterans who are supposed to be carrying the load.

The Yankees need more of that attitude. But even with Rice in Game 1, they lost. And that sucks. That loss stung. Not because Pittsburgh is a bad team. Because the Yankees practically handed it away.

Gerrit Cole deserved better. Eleven strikeouts over seven innings is exactly what your ace is supposed to give you. Yes, two home runs hurt, but after that performance, your teammates and bullpen have to finish the job. Instead? The offense disappeared for most of the afternoon.

Two hits through four innings. No pressure. No consistency. Then, just when Rice erased the deficit with one swing, the bullpen couldn't hold it together.  Fernando Cruz couldn't escape the tenth, and suddenly another winnable game turned into another frustrating loss.

That's becoming a habit.

Look, it is my opinion that Championship teams don't waste performances like this and that's the problem. Every time the Yankees waste a brilliant outing from Gerrit Cole, it chips away at something bigger than one game. Your ace goes out there, gives you everything he has, and the offense sleepwalks through seven innings. Then the bullpen gives it back.

That's not championship baseball. That's careless baseball. And we've seen this movie far too many times. But look, at least the Yankees answered in Game 2.

Jasson Domínguez came through with the go-ahead RBI double. Volpe followed with an RBI single. The bullpen locked it down. Most importantly, Max Fried looked every bit like the pitcher the Yankees have been waiting to get back. Now comes the hard part.

Stop wasting great pitching. Support your starters. Execute the fundamentals. Because if this team wants October to mean something, they can't keep turning quality starts into missed opportunities.

Wednesday could have easily been a sweep. Instead, it's another reminder that talent alone doesn't win baseball games. Execution does.

My take.

THE "WORK IN PROGRESS" YANKEES OUTFIELD

You can say that the Yankees have been a "work in progress" for many years. You can say they are a "work in progress" with their leadership or their roster construction. Now we add the same tagline to centerfielder turned right fielder Jasson Dominguez. 

This team is a perennial "work in progress" or maybe it's just always work because the progress part is elusive at best. You can call it many different things. Dominguez is no exception to this debate but he's hanging in there. We are surviving in an outfield strategy shaped entirely by the injury bug. Dominguez has done better than I thought he was going to, honestly, but that doesn't mean it has been without it's stressful moments.

The Yankees series against the Reds definitely showed some weaknesses or areas of opportunity for Dominguez. Friday night he did overrun a hard hit ball, but he miraculously made the catch. He wasn't quite as lucky in the third inning when he couldn't hold onto a double hit by Blake Dunn. It was hard to watch.

On Saturday, he made a nice catch on JJ Bleday's liner to right field but made an error throwing to second base that prevented a potential inning-ending double play. It was a mental error. Something already not out of the norm for Dominguez but when you add playing a new position it makes potential for errors even higher. It also can be the difference between a win and a loss. Even if Dominguez didn't have that error, it wouldn't have changed the lopsided loss but something like that could be a difference maker in a close game.

That's what worries me. We have to do what we have to do while we work through these injuries. It's not perfect and even Aaron Boone knows it.
"You see his speed come into play," Boone said. "Overall, he's played pretty well. It's early. He's still a work in progress there."

The Yankees have faith in Dominguez. It's not like they have much of a choice right now, but they always have. We've seen it for years now as the Yankees have stayed loyal to Dominguez even with concerns in his development showing. If there is ever a time for him to prove to the Yankees and fans that he can be a big leaguer.....it's now.

In the meantime, we are a "work in progress" and I hope that doesn't eventually cost us the division.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

THE INTERNET'S BUZZIN' WITH TRADE RUMORS TO REPLACE INJURED JUDGE

I don't even want to think about this, but after being asked about this constantly at work and now seeing rumors on the internet with every click I make....it feels impossible to avoid. Aaron Judge is sidelined and it's going to be a while. Now the Yankees moved back in first place over the weekend and everyone is asking how the Yankees are gonna keep it, without Judge playing.

If I am being honest, I am asking the same thing too. There are two very different versions of this team. There's the version with Judge playing that averages more runs score per game and then there is the version with no Judge and about two runs less scored per game. Not pretty splits to consider in a very right race with the Rays for the AL East.

And now we have to worry about exactly how long Judge is going to be out. The Yankees expect him to be back this season, but we do not know when. There's still a lot of baseball left so that's a lot of time that he could still be out. So now, the internet is abuzz with who the Yankees could trade for to fill-in for him until he does return.

That Judge fill in could be Seiya Suzuki, read more HERE. The Cubs are in a tough spot, they have been dropping games and the possibility of the Cubs becoming sellers at the deadline is becoming stronger. The Cubs have not played well since May 7th and unless they turn a corner, there is no reason for the Cubs to become a buyer by the deadline when they are 7.5 games back in their division.

And that makes the Cubs likely to trade away some of their impending free agents and that could easily mean Suzuki. He's a free agent at the end of the season and even though he had a rough stretch in May he's rebounded nicely in June with a .383 average, five home runs, and seven RBI's.

Suzuki is currently considered day-to-day after jamming his right knee after diving for a ball on Saturday. Initial reports are fine, the Cubs don't seem concerned but....time will tell. It's an option, and one the Yankees could consider with the injury bug still biting with Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham. Confidence isn't as high as it should be with Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones so the Yankees will sniff around. But the question is where and around who?

The Yankees may need a rental. I don't like to think about it because we NEED Judge, but it might be a harsh reality.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

EVERY LINEUP DECISION MATTERS & THE YANKEES ARE SCREWING IT UP!

It's bad enough that the Yankees can't construct a roster that makes sense let alone one that can be competitive and win. It gets worse when after Brian Cashman gives Aaron Boone a messy roster that he can't objectively evaluate it. He just tinkers with it like he's a scientist or something.

And a really foolish scientist at that. This isn't a franchise that is built or knows how to built to win anymore. Those days are gone. When you look at the lineup and see Baboonie shuffling between Anthony Volpe and Jose Caballero you know insanity has taken over. Logic and deductive reasoning do not exist. Baboonie doesn't even hesitate to put a .190 offensive and defensive liability at shortstop instead of the better all around player that is Caballero. The idea is to put the best players available on the field at all times, and that in no world means Volpe. He doesn't make the Yankees better, so he has no reason to even have a big league job anymore. He could literally be sent back down to Triple-A and rot.....but we see his mug in the dugout every game. 

But that's not all, folks! Now the Yankees have Jasson Dominguez playing right field down in Triple A. Yup, the stupid science experiment continues. The Yankees need someone in right field with Aaron Judge out and their brilliant idea is to move the guy that sucks defensively in left field to right field and hope and pray he is a million times better? The guy who has never played right field in the big leagues is going to fill in effectively. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

Why? All in the goal of versatility. It's not about what's best and actually makes sense it's about versatility.

"We invested so much because we switched Jasson to left field before last year to help with the transition so we wanted him to really focus on that," Boone said HERE. "But to be able to have the versatility, I think, is important. Spencer has done a good job of getting some real reps in both corner spots as well as continuing to have center field in play. I think it just adds to their overall value a little bit."

I will admit, I am not a big fan of Spencer Jones but it's stupid to put Dominguez, who is defensively flawed already and plug him into a new role that he has no real experience and expect him to do better than the guy who actually CAN play right field. All for versatility. I guess it only matters that the player can stand in his spot on the field and not actually do the job well. 

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The Yankees don't understand fundamentals or baseball at all. They just look at algorithms and hope it magically works. This is what they do....and this is why we haven't won a championship since 2009. 

This is a disaster waiting to happen AND just really freaking stupid.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

BOONE'S VOLPE OBSESSION HAS CROSSED INTO DELUSION

Anthony Volpe was 0-4 tonight. It's predictable. Volpe is now batting .203.  He's a horrible player.  What the fuck are we doing here?  At some point, unwavering faith stops being admirable and starts looking like a hostage situation.

That point may have arrived with Aaron Boone and Anthony Volpe.

Appearing on Jomboy's show, Boone doubled down yet again on his commitment to Volpe, confirming that the struggling shortstop would be back in the lineup against Cleveland. More remarkably, Boone pushed back on the notion that Volpe has received too much playing time compared to Jose Caballero. According to Boone, Volpe has been "really good" defensively and has simply been the victim of offensive bad luck.

Bad Luck.

Not poor performance. Not prolonged struggles. Not a player who has looked increasingly overmatched for long stretches. Just bad luck.

At this stage, Boone's defense of Volpe feels less like managerial support and more like performance art.

Nobody expected Boone to throw his young shortstop under the bus publicly. But there is a growing gap between protecting a player and pretending fans can't see what is happening right in front of them. Boone's comments managed to accomplish neither. Instead, they came across as a lecture to a fan base that watches the games, studies the numbers, and can recognize when reality and talking points have stopped sharing the same zip code.

The evidence is impossible to ignore. Tuesday marked Volpe's fifth start and sixth appearance in the Yankees' last seven games. Despite mounting criticism and increasingly legitimate questions about his role, Boone continues to pencil him in with the certainty of a man filling out a preprinted form. What happened to earning his job back? It was handed back to him and yet, Jose Caballero is a better player all around.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are approaching a roster crunch. Aaron Judge is sidelined. Giancarlo Stanton and Jasson Domínguez are nearing returns. The AL East race remains tight enough that every lineup decision matters. Yet Boone seems determined to treat Volpe's spot as the one position exempt from competition.

That's where the frustration boils over.

Jose Caballero has provided elite defense and a far more compelling argument for additional playing time than Boone appears willing to acknowledge. Lurking behind him is George Lombard Jr., one of the organization's most intriguing prospects and a player many believe could force the conversation sooner rather than later. The Yankees have alternatives. Boone simply appears uninterested in exploring them.

What makes the situation especially concerning is that Boone's actions suggest he can no longer objectively evaluate his own roster. If a player can struggle this visibly, receive this much runway, and still be described as "really good" with no meaningful adjustment in playing time, then what exactly would it take to lose Boone's confidence?

The Yankees are trying to win a division, not conduct a years-long science experiment.

When reinforcements arrive, Brian Cashman may have to make a difficult decision. But based on Boone's comments and deployment patterns, there's an argument that the decision should be taken out of Boone's hands entirely. Because if this level of commitment continues, the Yankees risk sacrificing better options simply to preserve a narrative that has long since stopped matching reality.

Faith is one thing.

Blind devotion is another.

And right now, Boone's commitment to Anthony Volpe looks a lot more like the latter. 

JASSON DOMINGUEZ PLAYED LIKE A TRUE THROWBACK

Maybe this is the old man in me talking, but baseball today feels a little… moisturized. Everybody’s worried about “load management,” preserving bodies, launch angles, recovery days, sleep metrics, hydration charts, and whether a guy’s heart rate got too high jogging to first base. Somewhere along the way, baseball stopped looking like a game played by maniacs and started looking like an HR department seminar.

I grew up watching players who treated the warning track like it was optional and basic human safety like a rumor.

Pete Rose didn’t slide into bases — he tried to assassinate them. The man played baseball like he had unpaid parking tickets waiting at every bag. Headfirst dives, dirt in his teeth, jersey permanently stained brown. Nobody ever accused Pete Rose of “taking a smarter angle.” The only angle he knew was full speed.

Then you had Ken Griffey Sr. and Dave Winfield scaling outfield walls in Yankee Stadium like rent was due at midnight. Those guys didn’t jog toward fly balls calculating risk assessment percentages. They went after baseballs with the kind of recklessness normally associated with action movies and bad financial decisions.

And don’t even get me started on Derek Jeter launching himself face-first into the stands against Boston. The man basically became an airborne folding chair just to record an out. Bloody face, bruised shoulder and Yankee fans still replay that clip like it’s the Zapruder film. THAT was baseball.

And honestly, that’s why I’m rolling my eyes at everyone ripping Jasson Domínguez for smashing into the wall making that catch against Texas. People are calling it stupid. I’m calling it beautiful.

The kid ran 81 feet tracking a rocket off the bat, went full speed into the chain-link part of the wall, got absolutely detonated on impact, lost his sunglasses, lost his hat, probably briefly lost contact with several ancestors — and STILL held onto the baseball.

That’s not stupidity. That’s baseball DNA. That is why you play the game. That is why Sportscenter invented the 10 ten plays!

That’s “the run doesn’t score because I’m catching this ball no matter what happens afterward.”

And yes, he got hurt. Shoulder sprain. Concussion protocol. He’ll miss a few weeks. But since when did effort become something we criticize? Since when did “he played too hard” become an insult?

Baseball was built on lunatics doing unreasonable things for outs. Why? Because it's the greatest game ever made.

You know who else played like this? Aaron Rowand. That man once smashed face-first into the center-field wall in Philadelphia so hard it looked like he got hit by a city bus, then walked away bleeding because he caught the ball anyway. ESPN literally dubbed players like him part of the “All-Run-Through-A-Wall Team.” Aaron Rowand played center field like every fly ball had personally insulted his family.

And then there was Jim Edmonds — a human highlight. The guy treated diving catches like performance art. Half the time he’d leave his feet so dramatically you’d think he got launched out of a cannon.  Jim Edmonds basically created baseball pornography for SportsCenter. Before every phone became a television studio, people waited all night to see the SportsCenter Top 10 because some lunatic center fielder sacrificed his skeletal structure robbing a double in July.

That stuff MATTERED.

Now everybody immediately turns into a risk-management consultant.
“He should’ve protected himself.”
“He needs to think long-term.”
“He’s too valuable.”
“He shouldn’t risk injury in May.”

Man… what happened to us?

 

You play to WIN THE GAME. You play to steal outs. You play to make the pitcher walk back to the dugout screaming into his glove because you just erased a guaranteed extra-base hit.

And what makes Domínguez’s play even better is this: the kid easily could’ve coasted. He JUST came back from an elbow bruise. Nobody would’ve crushed him for pulling up a step early. Most modern players probably make the “business decision” there, let the ball bounce off the wall, and jog after it while pretending they almost had it.

Not Domínguez. He went full-send. And that’s why I respect it.

That’s also why I’ll always love guys like Harrison Bader. Sure, the guy gets hurt a lot. But every inning looks like his mortgage depends on making the next catch. There’s something refreshing about players who still play with chaos in them. Because baseball is supposed to have some chaos.

It’s supposed to have dirt-stained uniforms, guys crashing into walls, catchers blocking the plate, infielders diving into the hole, and outfielders running like their cleats are on fire. Not everything needs to be optimized by a sports scientist with an iPad and a protein shake.

Of course players should be smart. Nobody’s saying careers should end for one catch in May. But there’s a massive difference between being smart and being soft. And lately, the line between those two keeps getting blurrier.

So no, I’m not criticizing Jasson Domínguez. I’m applauding him. Because for one play, baseball looked dangerous again.

It looked emotional again.
It looked gritty again.
It looked like the game I grew up loving.

And honestly?
We need more of that.

--Alvin Izzo
BYB Yankee History Contributor

IT'S SPENCER JONES TIME!

 Ladies and gentlemen, hide your fastballs. Spencer Jones is on the way to the Bronx.

According to Francys Romero of BeisbolFR, the Yankees are calling up their towering outfield prospect after Jasson Domínguez unfortunately landed on the injured list following a scary crash into the wall during today’s game. Domínguez stayed down for several minutes before being carted off, and Aaron Boone later confirmed the rookie will miss a few weeks with a low-grade AC sprain in his left shoulder. The good news? Concussion tests have come back negative so far.

The bad news for Triple-A pitchers? They no longer have to deal with Spencer Jones.

Because make no mistake — this guy has been bullying baseballs in Scranton. Through 33 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Jones has launched 11 homers, driven in 41 runs, and posted a .958 OPS while looking every bit like the Yankees’ next giant science project gone right. And yes, giant is the key word here. The man is 6-foot-7 and built like Aaron Judge was left in the dryer too long.

The power has always been absurd. Scouts drool over the “65-grade” pop. But what’s changed this year is the approach. Jones reportedly worked in a toe-tap timing mechanism similar to Shohei Ohtani’s, helping trim down the strikeouts and unlock the version of himself Yankees fans have been dreaming about since he was drafted.

This is also exactly why the Yankees added him to the 40-man roster back in November. They knew another team would’ve stolen him in the Rule 5 Draft faster than Boone can overmanage a bullpen.

Now the Yankees finally get their first real look at the kid in the big leagues.

The Martian may be temporarily grounded, but the Yankees are replacing him with a left-handed skyscraper capable of launching baseballs into low Earth orbit. Spencer Jones time has arrived.

Ben Rice, Spencer Jones. Both up in the same lineup? Bencer baby.

DOMINGUEZ GETS ELBOW UPDATE

And everything is glorious.

For a moment there, the entire universe of New York Yankees fans froze like someone had just pulled the emergency brake on the season. Not that the Yankee offense needs him right now, that's not the point.  The point is the Yankee fans WANT him.

Because when Jasson Domínguez took a pitch straight to the elbow, this wasn’t just another “rub some dirt on it” situation. This was the future of the franchise getting smoked by 95 mph, and nobody was laughing.

He left the game. Tests followed. And then came that word—inconclusive—which in baseball terms usually translates to: “prepare for the worst and cancel your weekend.”

Domínguez, to his credit, stayed calm:
“It got me right in the elbow… Right when it hit me, my arm went numb a little bit, but since then it’s just been swelling.”

“Just swelling,” he says. Meanwhile, fans were already spiraling, imagining MRIs, specialists, and a press conference that starts with, “Unfortunately…”

But this time? Baseball showed mercy.

The tests came back clean. No structural damage. No long-term issue. Just a painful scare and a collective exhale across the Bronx.

And make no mistake—that exhale was loud, because Domínguez isn’t just another name on the lineup card. He’s the name. The one with the five-tool buzz. Fans love him. The one who looks like he was built in a lab specifically to fix everything that’s felt stale about this roster at times.

Power? Check. Speed? Easy. Presence? You feel it immediately. This is the guy the Yankees have needed—not bought, not borrowed, but grown. And to their credit, they’re finally doing the obvious: letting him play. Not hiding him. Not slow-cooking him behind veterans running on reputation fumes. Just giving him the ball, the bat, and the stage.

It only took a few years and a mountain of fan frustration, but here we are.

Which is why that pitch against the Texas Rangers hit a little harder than usual. It wasn’t just a bruise—it was a reminder of how fragile momentum can be, and how quickly things can go sideways. Thankfully, this one didn’t.

Domínguez brings life to a lineup that can drift into autopilot. He brings unpredictability to a team that sometimes feels scripted. And more than anything, he brings hope—the kind you can actually see sprinting down the line or launching a ball into the night.

So yes, disaster avoided.

But maybe take the hint: when you’ve got a player like Jasson Domínguez, you don’t get cautious to the point of paralysis. You don’t bury him in “development plans” while the big league team begs for a spark. You let him play. Because the future isn’t some abstract idea sitting in Triple-A.

For the Yankees, it’s already here—and it just took one fastball to remind everyone how much that matters.

THE YANKEES MADE A BIG DECISION ABOUT LUIS GIL!

Another disappointing outing for Luis Gil yesterday. It's really unfortunate, because I really wanted to see him thrive and transform and find a way out of this long slump he's been in since 2024. His last start wasn't it. Gil gave up six hits in four plus innings with a lot of hard contact. It left the Yankees with no choice....

After the series ending loss to the Astros yesterday, the Yankees have optioned Gil back down to Triple-A. He was already on a short leash, but he showed us more of the same and just forced the Yankees hand. It's been a tough road for Gil since his rookie season. He hasn't been a MLB viable starter for more than a full season now. I hope they can get him back to that viable starter again but it is going to take a lot of hard work and the faster they get him back down in the minors and working on it, the better off they will be.

After Gil was sent down, the Yankees quickly made a corresponding move by calling Jasson Dominguez back up (again). This could have more to do with Giancarlo Stanton and an incoming trip to the Injured List for his calf. The Yankees are going to need another person in the outfield, and quite honestly I would like to see Aaron Judge get a partial day off by giving him a day as designated hitter against the Texas Rangers. Something else to think about though....if the Yankees want to avoid the platoon situation again and allow him the consistent at bats they need to let him play against lefties and righties. They cannot platoon him again. He needs to play everyday like he was in Triple A to allow him to get better.

So I am concerned the Yankees are going to screw that up, because let's face it they don't learn from a lot of their mistakes. But that still leaves the question of IF the Yankees are going to add another pitcher. Rolling with 12 pitchers is very risky. The Yankees don't need to add another starter right now thanks to their schedule. Honestly, they can get by until middle of May without a fifth starter but they should add another bullpen arm for some depth. Gil was going to be sent down when Carlos Rodon returns here in a couple of weeks, but unfortunately his poor performance sped up the timeline and now the Yankees need to prepare for the next best option.

So here it comes, last week I said I was focused on Elmer Rodriguez and now he could have an opportunity.... maybe. This is no way a guarantee, it fact it could be a long shot but his sinker, changeup or slider arsenal could be much more effective than Gil's changeup and flat fastball that everyone and their brother was making contact with. It's not a bad idea to give our third ranked prospect a trail run here. It feels like a smart option to give the kid the next three or four weeks to see where he is at. If we don't, it could be a missed opportunity. We need to be playing our best options and right now he could be it!

Something isn't right with Gil. The move needed to happen. Now Gil and the Yankees need to figure it out and put us in a better position in the future....with or without Gil.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj