Overview
- Volpe’s 20-day rehab, which ends Sunday, forces the Yankees to either activate him to the majors or option him to the minors under the cap on position-player rehab stints.
- Aaron Boone kept Volpe at Double-A through the weekend and said José Caballero’s strong stretch at shortstop has complicated the call.
- Caballero has started almost every game and surged at the plate over his last 18 games while leading shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved, strengthening his case to keep the job.
- Volpe is returning from October labrum surgery on his left shoulder and is hitting .278 with one homer in 11 rehab games, with Boone saying he believes the shortstop is ready.
- If the club options him for at least 20 more days, his free agency would move from after 2028 to after 2029, a scenario several insiders have flagged as they forecast a short-term delay.