Anthony Volpe's defense is so atrocious that even other teams are roasting it

The New York Yankees finally, at long last, got a win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, with Ben Rice's go-ahead homer in the ninth proving to be the difference in a roller-coaster 5-4 affair. But while there are plenty of positives on a night that just might have saved New York's season from collapse, the play of Anthony Volpe was not one of them.

In fact, quite the opposite: Volpe was a glaring problem, just as he has been for months now. He once again went hitless at the plate, and for the second consecutive night, he made a crippling error that keyed a Blue Jays rally. This one came in the bottom of the sixth, when Toronto outfielder Myles Straw hit what should've been a routine ground out to start the inning ... only for Volpe to bounce the throw in the dirt for his 13th error of the season, tying him with Willy Adames for the MLB lead.

And of course, because the baseball gods are not without a sense of humor, it immediately came back to bite New York. Davis Schneider hit a one-out, RBI double to cut the lead in half, then George Springer delivered a base hit with two outs that tied the game. Just like that, a 4-1 lead had become a 4-4 tie, and even the official Blue Jays X account was getting jokes off at Volpe's expense.

If there were any doubt about whether Volpe had become a national punching bag amid his recent struggles, well, there you have it. The Yankees did come back to win the game, of course, and so they technically got the last laugh. But that's only a temporary reprieve from what's become a flat-out crisis, one that everyone else in the league can see.

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Anthony Volpe's defensive collapse has Yankees fans turning to conspiracy theories

Volpe's slump at the plate is one thing. He's always been an up-and-down offensive player, and while everyone hoped he'd parlay his strong World Series into a step forward in 2025, it's not a huge surprise that hasn't happened just yet. For better or worse, this might just be who Volpe is as a hitter.

The defense, however, is another matter entirely. Volpe was a genuinely great shortstop in both 2023 and 2024, good enough for the Yankees to feel confident in him being their future at the position despite his offensive growing pains: With defensive value like that, even being mediocre as a hitter would be good enough to make him an everyday player.

And then, overnight, what had seemed to be the foundation of his game vanished into thin air. How does that happen? It's not like Volpe forgot how to field his position, and it's not like a 24-year-old lost his athleticism overnight. There's seemingly no explanation for how an excellent defender would become a bad one just like that ... except for the obvious one that Yankees fans have now landed on: Clearly, Volpe's playing hurt.

Volpe did land awkwardly on his left shoulder back in early May while diving for a ground ball against the Tampa Bay Rays. He didn't miss any time, and neither he nor the team have made any mention of it since. But there isn't another easy explanation at hand, and given his baffling decline, you can't blame Yankees fans for speculating.

Honestly, what other explanation is there? It's either a secret injury, or Volpe's developed the yips a la Chuck Knoblauch. If it's not a physical thing, then it has to be mental, and either way, the Yankees would be in huge trouble both now and into the future.