The New York Yankees offered some surprising updates during end-of-year press conferences from manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman on Thursday.
In the good news department, they revealed that franchise superstar Aaron Judge won’t require surgery to heal his injured elbow. On the flip side, they revealed that pitcher Carlos Rodon and shortstop Anthony Volpe are likely to miss the start of next season as they recover from their own offseason procedures.
Volpe was a focus of both media sessions, as Boone and Cashman detailed the extent of his shoulder problem and were both asked why the team stuck with him as the everyday shortstop despite the injury and his diminishing play. The pair continued to express their belief that Volpe will seize the everyday role again once healthy, but the team will need at least a stopgap option to start next year.
As of now, that would most likely be utility man Jose Caballero. But Major League Baseball analyst Jim Riley predicted the Yankees would trade him away this winter, raising the question of who might fill in.
“Jose Caballero honestly, truthfully, I think would be the better option for the Yankees to be the everyday shortstop than Volpe … (but) I think Volpe stays and he’s locked in and it’s almost a vote of confidence if you trade Caballero,” Riley said in a YouTube video. “So, Caballero to the (Atlanta) Braves would be a good fit here.”
The Yankees would need to feel pretty confident that utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera is going to be healthy enough to fill in for Volpe to start next year if they would consider a winter trade of Caballero. But if they do have a backup plan at shortstop to start next season, they could command a haul for Caballero as the shortstop market is notably thin.
The Braves signed Ha-Seong Kim toward the end of the season and are likely to extend him as a shortstop option for next year, but he’s been frequently hurt and might profile better elsewhere on the diamond. So, if they are really desperate, the Braves might be able to convince the Yankees to part ways with Caballero.
That trade would certainly be a vote of confidence for Volpe, but it would seem a bit foolhardy given the lack of other options on the Yankees roster or out on the trade market.
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