REPLACING VOLPE? IT'S BEING TALKED ABOUT

Yes, yes, I know—I’ve been torching Anthony Volpe for the better part of a year now. And right alongside him? His ever-devoted manager Aaron Boone, who treats Volpe like he’s baseball royalty reincarnated. Case in point: remember when Meredith Marakovits had the audacity to ask real questions about Volpe’s struggles? Boone, visibly annoyed, literally stood up from the postgame presser and mouthed to her, “He’s f***ing elite,” like he had just escaped from some kind of Volpe-themed cult retreat. Read more about that HERE.

But credit where credit is due—Volpe went deep twice last night and helped the Yankees grab a win. And look, that’s great. That’s what he should be doing. We weren’t promised some scrappy contact hitter batting .210 and playing decent defense. No, we were sold “the next great Yankee.” The golden boy. The face of the franchise. But here’s the reality—he’s not elite. He’s a kid with a high school diploma and a big league jersey, and frankly, it’s not fair to him that the front office sold him like he was the second coming of Derek Jeter.

Now, fast forward to today, and the whispers are getting louder—maybe, just maybe, there are better options out there. With the trade deadline looming, Yankees fans are scanning every possible upgrade like it's Black Friday. One name floated by Marlins on SI analyst Matthew Schmidt? Otto Lopez. And it’s not the wildest idea.

"In case you haven't heard, Anthony Volpe has been Public Enemy No. 1 in the Bronx over the last several weeks. While the young shortstop rebounded by hitting two home runs in a win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night, his brutal struggles have had Yankees fans — and even Yanks legend Alex Rodriguez — calling for the front office to replace him," Schmidt writes.

"Enter Lopez, who has been one of the Marlins' most prominent rising stars this season. The 26-year-old is slashing .249/.318/.393 with 11 home runs and 52 RBI over 336 plate appearances while playing stellar defense at both shortstop and second base."

Now, to be clear, there’s no real sign that the Yankees are shopping Volpe. Boone is still strangely—and let’s be honest, uncomfortably—obsessed with the guy. But I love that more fans and writers are starting to say what I’ve been yelling into the void for months: Volpe’s not elite. He’s a solid fielder. That’s it. And if you’re building a championship roster, “solid” isn’t good enough.

Boone’s taken some heat for sticking with Volpe through every slump, every 0-for-4, and every botched double play. Yes, Saturday night was a step in the right direction. But one good game doesn’t erase months of mediocrity.

With Miami dangling a potential infield upgrade like Lopez and a few pitchers too, this should absolutely be part of the Yankees’ trade deadline conversation. Will it be? Probably not. But it should be.

Stay tuned—because the Yankees might need more than just hope and Boone's blind faith to get through October.

CASHMAN'S "AGGRESSIVE" LOOKING FOR A RIGHT-HANDED BAT APPARENTLY

You ever notice how every time you read about the Yankees—whether it’s in the paper, on a blog, or scribbled on a napkin at a Bronx deli—there’s always this obsession with “upgrading”? Like it’s some kind of annual tradition. Fire up the trade machine, cue the mystery sources, and panic about right-handed bats. Meanwhile, the Yankees? They're actually doing just fine. Even with injuries, even with Boone as their manager, the team’s humming along like a well-oiled pinstriped machine. It’s almost... refreshing.

But of course, here comes USA Today’s Bob Nightengale to shake the snow globe. In a May 25, 2025, report, he declared that the Yankees are “aggressively” hunting for a right-handed bat. Aggressively! You’d think Brian Cashman was on a safari.

Look, Bob Nightengale’s been around forever, and he’s got a knack for drama, but he’s also got a résumé of rumors that read like a choose-your-own-adventure gone wrong. 

If his scoop turns out to be nonsense, no worries—he just tosses out the ol' “anonymous source” shield and skates off untouched. It's the media equivalent of ghosting your fantasy league after drafting six injured players. You see where I'm going with this?

Anyway, on to some names being thrown into the Yankees’ hypothetical shopping cart. Nick Deeds of MLBTradeRumors.com chimed in with some “could-be” options: Otto Lopez (Marlins), Lenyn Sosa (White Sox), and Amed Rosario (Nationals). Deeds notes that right-handed infielders are slim pickings this year, which sounds about right—like looking for WiFi in a tunnel.

• Otto Lopez is slick with the glove at second base—no doubt. But guess what? We already have a second baseman. This isn’t musical chairs.

• Lenyn Sosa is hitting .280 with a .696 OPS, which is perfectly fine if you’re looking for “decent” infield depth and not a lineup-changing force.

• Amed Rosario is batting .303 with two home runs and one stolen base as of May 31. Nice numbers, but are we really sprinting to the phones for that?

These are plug-and-play types, sure. But the million-dollar question remains: Do we even need this right now? The team is rolling. The vibes are good. The wins are coming even though last night sucked. Even with some guys down, the roster is answering the bell.

Look—I love rumor season as much as the next baseball junkie. It’s like hot stove Christmas. But let’s be real: a lot of these stories are clickbait sugar highs. They’re fun for a day or two, then disappear faster than a SnapChat from Hal Steinbrenner. No trade. No truth. Just smoke, mirrors, and someone hoping to spike their engagement numbers.

That said, we report everything here. Rumors, speculation, trades, tantrums—you name it. But we also give our thoughts, and more importantly, we trust our eyes. 

The Yankees are getting the job done. So BYB freaks, keep your heads on straight. Do the research. Dig into the facts. Don’t get played by a headline.

You’re smarter than that.

CASHMAN IS LOOKING FOR A NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK TO UPRGRADE THE YANKEE ROSTER

On a good day, I am worried about what Brian Cashman can accomplish. Even when conditions are the best of the best and can't get any better I still worry. The Yankees have some holes they want to fill by the trade deadline and this season, it looks very damn difficult.

Remember in Spring Training when Cashman said there wasn't a lot out there for starting rotation help after the Gerrit Cole news dropped? There's always hope that some team is going to turn into a seller after a poor start but...it's not looking so good right now. We've been riding with Ryan Yarbrough and Will Warren but that's not an ideal situation. The Yankees have World Series aspirations, so a proven starting staff is needed. The Yankees are still searching....and I think Cashman is going to keep searching late into summer. He may come up empty handed, or he may go dumpster diving again.

As hard as a starting pitcher may be to find, rumor has it the Yankees are narrowly focused on finding a right handed infielder. If that wasn't specific enough, if that right handed infielder could play third base that would be the perfect scenario. Yup, let's just go from super hard to damn near impossible. That's what's running around the socials though. Cashman may be crazier than I thought he was.

So even if we eliminate the right handed infielder that plays third and just play on the diamond somewhere the pickings are still slim. Otto Lopez of the Marlins, Lenyn Sosa of the White Sox, or Amed Rosario of the Nationals could fill a need, but we are so far from the trade deadline that none of these teams are so far out that they are sellers yet. A lot could happen still.You could look at other teams like the Colorado Rockies or the Baltimore Orioles who have massively disappointed but even that could be challenging. That also assumes that the Orioles would even be willing to engage with the Yankees in a trade, which I wouldn't hold my breath on. 

The Yankees roster flaws have created some very difficult challenges when trying to make meaningful editions to improve it. I guess you can credit that to another Cashman fail, because now he is really looking for a needle in a haystack to fix it. It's going to be interesting to see how this unfolds over the next 9 weeks.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj