About the Off-Season: Wally Pipp Part Two?

About the Off-Season: Wally Pipp Part Two?

By Tim Kabel

February 17, 2006

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Spring Training is underway for the Yankees. The first game will be on February 20^th against the Baltimore Orioles. That is three days from today. Opening Day will be March 25^th against the Giants in San Francisco.

Anthony Volpe will miss Spring Training and will begin the regular season on the IL. He is not expected to be back until sometime in May.

The most likely candidate to play shortstop for the Yankees in Volpe’s absence is Jose Caballero, who came to the Yankees last year at the trade deadline from Tampa Bay. In his brief tenure with the Yankees, Caballero played 40 games and batted .266 with 15 stolen bases. Overall last year, he stole 49 bases. He is a solid defender. With Tampa Bay, he batted .226 in 2025, .227 in 2024, and .221 in 2023.

Anthony Volpe has played three seasons for the Yankees. In 2023, he batted .209 with 21 home runs, sixty RBI, and 24 stolen bases. In 2024, he batted.243 with 12 home runs, sixty RBI, and 28 stolen bases. In 2025, Volpe who was plagued by a shoulder injury that required surgery at the end of the year, batted .212, with19 home runs, 72 RBI, and 18 stolen bases, but he was thrown out a career high 8 times. He also tied for the lead league in errors.

Jose Caballero worked very hard during the off-season, even participating in specialized training at Driveline. Reportedly, his performances there were impressive. We'll see what happens when the games start in Spring Training. One thing is for certain, Caballero has an excellent chance to be the starting shortstop for the Yankees. At this point, his primary competition would be Ahmed Rosario, who is not a very good fielder and much more of a utility player, and Oswaldo Cabrera, who is coming back from a devastating injury and seems better suited to being a utility player.

The big question is what Caballero will do with his opportunity.

Let's say that Caballero plays at the same level he has so far in his career. By that I mean he hits around .230 with a little bit of power but plays very solid defense and leads the league in stolen bases. Even though that is not spectacular, it is better than what Volpe did not only last year, but throughout most of his career. These are both young players who don't have lengthy Major League resumes.

Remember, Aaron Boone stated that he did not believe that Volpe’s injury affected his play last year. In other words, he believes that what we saw from Volpe last year is what we should expect to see this year.

What if when Volpe completes his minor league rehab, he is functioning at the same level he was last year. What if he is batting .210 in the minor leagues with somewhat shaky defense? What will the Yankees do? Will they automatically give Volpe the starting job at shortstop in the Major Leagues when he is physically able to return? Should they? Has Volpe earned the right to reclaim the position automatically?

Let's complicate things a little bit. Let's say all the off-season work that Caballero did along with the start he had to his Yankees career prove to be legitimate. What if he is batting .265 or higher during the first two months of the year. What if he has a little bit of power? What if he is still playing very solid defense and leading the league in stolen bases?

Basically, is there a way that Jose Caballero could become the Yankees’ regular shortstop this season?

I don't know but I think at the very least, it should be a conversation. He should be given the opportunity. Perhaps Caballero will struggle and will put up numbers comparable to those of Volpe during the first two months.  If that is the case, maybe the Yankees will decide that having Caballero as a pinch runner and defensive replacement at multiple positions would be his greatest value to the team. 

There is another option. What if Caballero is playing very well during those first two months? What if he is batting about.265, leading league in stolen bases, and playing solid defense? And, what if Anthony Volpe is tearing the cover off the ball in his minor league rehab? What if he is playing excellent defense as well? What if he has fixed the flaw that caused him to be a less effective base runner last year? Would the Yankees bump Caballero for Volpe under that scenario? Maybe they wouldn't have to. Caballero has played multiple positions. What if the Yankees determine that the best combination might be to play Volpe at shortstop and Jose Caballero at third base, replacing the light hitting and left-handed hitting Ryan McMahon? Could that happen? I think it could.

The point is that the Yankees need to see what Caballero can do and they need to be open to allowing him to win a starting position. The problem is that as we have all seen many times, Aaron Boone does not like to deviate from what makes him feel comfortable. In other words, Volpe hardly missed any games over his first three seasons. Volpe was anointed the starting shortstop in 2023 and has been so since he arrived in the Bronx. In his first three years as a Yankee, Volpe has missed a total of 14 games; 9 of those occurred last year. It seems somewhat unlikely that the Yankees will move on from Anthony Volpe that quickly or easily.

Perhaps they will. However, I think it is much more likely that regardless of what Caballero is doing, when Anthony Volpe is ready to start playing again at the Major League level, he will resume his role as the starting shortstop for the Yankees. Should that be the case? I think it should only occur if Volpe earns it. If Caballero is off to a tremendous start, the Yankees should carefully evaluate what is the best move for the team considering all the options they have. I don't believe it should automatically become a return to Anthony Volpe starting at shortstop and Ryan McMahon playing third base because that's what it's supposed to be.

The Yankee should see what happens and carefully monitor the situation during Volpe’s absence. Whether they will remains to be seen.