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Try it freeMINNEAPOLIS — Healthwise, the playing field became even once again between the Yankees’ two shortstops on Monday.
José Caballero did not go anywhere.
For the sixth straight game, Caballero started at shortstop on Monday night against the Twins at Target Field, this time with Anthony Volpe back to being a full player after receiving a cortisone shot in his left shoulder last Wednesday, as the Yankees rode the hot hand.
“[Caballero] is playing great,” manager Aaron Boone said before Monday’s game. “So we’re at that time of year where it’s all hands on deck. Everyone’s going to play an important role. You never know on a given day who has the most important role. But I expect them both to play an important role for us down the stretch.”
Boone said he “probably” could have started Volpe on Monday if that was the direction he wanted to go in after the 24-year-old was limited at best through the weekend as he recovered from the injection.
That he did not was telling, especially on a day that could have offered a soft landing spot against the Twins and given Caballero a breather after the Yankees arrived here in the middle of the night from Boston.
The reality is that even if Caballero has usurped the starting job, Boone would likely not come out and say that. Instead, he offered a familiar line when asked if Caballero would get the majority of starts at the position over the final two weeks of the regular season.
“We’ll see,” he said. “Day to day.”
This stretch began with Caballero getting a start over the slumping Volpe last Wednesday, with Boone describing the shortstop situation as “day to day.”
But then by Thursday it was revealed that Volpe had received the injection to help treat the partially torn labrum he sustained in May, which essentially glued him to the bench during the Red Sox series.
“Today, I feel like whatever role we need, he should be good to go,” Boone said. “Hopefully start to get in the mix here.”
It would not be surprising if Volpe gets a start at shortstop during the Twins series, as the Yankees continued a stretch of 13 games in 13 days, but beyond that his role remains unclear.
Because Caballero had made the most of his opportunity in the five straight games at shortstop, batting 6-for-18 (.333) with a .980 OPS, three steals and a mammoth 423-foot homer on Sunday night at Fenway Park.
He also turned in a terrific defensive play in the eighth inning of the series finale against the Red Sox to keep a run off the board and keep the Yankees within striking distance, even if they did not ultimately come all the way back.
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“Just kind of a gamer,” Boone said of Caballero. “But what stands out to me about him is the confidence he plays the game with. You obviously see that confidence on the bases, sometimes he makes you a little nervous because he’s so daring. But it’s a confidence that elevates his game. He’s really comfortable in the field wherever you put him. He’s comfortable in the batter’s box. He’s a winning player.”
Entering Monday, Caballero had accrued 1.1 bWAR in 31 games as a Yankee, matching Volpe’s output across 141 games. By fWAR, Caballero led Volpe 0.9 to 0.6.
Just how much playing time Volpe gets down the stretch is a delicate balance. The last time he received a cortisone shot for his shoulder came at the All-Star break, and in 14 games following that, he hit .280 with a 1.035 OPS.
The Yankees are hoping the second shot could lead to a similar bounce back, but they don’t exactly have the time to be doing trial runs at this point in the season as they try to chase down the division or, more likely, the top AL wild-card spot.