The New York Yankees have an Anthony Volpe problem. The issue is, Yankees manager Aaron Boone don't see it that way. Volpe has been far from the next Derek Jeter that fans had anticipated since he became the starting shortstop in 2023. The 24-year-old has been a disaster, defensively, this season, as he leads the majors with 15 errors.
Despite his errors total increasing and the statistics showing Volpe being one of the worst defensive shortstops in the game, Boone has made it a mission to deflect blame from the 24-year-old. Instead, Boone has outrageously said that Volpe is an "elite" shortstop, despite his play showing otherwise. Yes, Volpe did win a Gold Glove his rookie year. But he's far from a Gold Glover now.
If you wanted another example of another mind-boggling defense of Volpe by Boone, look no further than his comments to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. Boone said that Volpe is in a "defensive slump" and used an example of himself having 18 errors in the first 18 games of his sophomore year with the USC Trojans to continue to say that his shortstop is still good.
While talking about Anthony Volpe, Aaron Boone said that he made 18 errors in his first 18 games his sophomore season at USC.
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) July 30, 2025
"I was a wreck, all right?" Boone said. "Anthony's not even close to that." #Yankees https://t.co/H41i3Adtir
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Aaron Boone uses ridiculous example to continue defending Anthony Volpe
So Boone said Volpe is not nearly a disaster at shortstop as the manager was during his sophomore year in college. College slump vs. major league struggles. That checks out. Not.
As Phillips mentions, Boone does not want to bench Volpe to let him take a mental break as he did in the past with players slumping at the plate. The manager believes Volpe can play through the struggles and get out of this perceived "defensive slump" due to his "mental toughness and his wiring."
Volpe has the most errors in the majors as of this writing. Additionally, he holds a fielding percentage of .959 with 125 putouts and 224 assists in 364 total chances. Perhaps most telling is that Baseball Savant gives Volpe a -3 OAA (Outs Above Average), which ranks in the 16th percentile, and an arm strength of 82.0, which is in the 34th percentile. Those aren't great numbers for Volpe, especially as he's on a team looking to make it back to the World Series.
There's still a lot of season left to go for Volpe to turn things around. But as Yankees fans have watched as the season progressed, the shortstop hasn't played any better, and his errors have contributed to losses, causing them to tumble out of first place in the AL East.
The good news is that Volpe is getting a bit better at the plate, hitting five home runs since returning from the All-Star break.
Yankees fans know that Boone will do whatever it takes to defend his players. That's why players like to play for him. But some of his defenses cause Yankees fans to be infuriated, since his evaluations don't match what fans see on the screen. Those Yankees fans who get angrier with each Boone press conference won't like his latest defense of Volpe, by comparing the young player's struggles to when the manager played for the USC Trojans college baseball team.