The Yankees stayed out of two star-studded free-agent shortstop markets the past two offseasons. This was largely about having Anthony Volpe and not wanting to expand payroll at a position they envisioned having a long-term answer arriving soon.

Volpe’s rookie season has included growing pains with too low an average and too many strikeouts, though the before and after numbers around when he essentially fired hitting coach Dillon Lawson a month before Brian Cashman actually did offer some encouragement.

Part of the lore of a rookie season that has seen him often struggle mightily at the plate was a June 11 off-day gathering at the Volpe homestead in New Jersey. The fare was his mom’s chicken parmigiana, but the main course was minor league teammate Austin Wells detecting an alteration in his buddy’s swing. Watching minor league videos, they noticed that Volpe’s stance had grown more open and his swing had a greater uppercut.

Following the meeting, he closed the stance and opened a better chapter for himself.

In the first 67 games before the alteration, he hit .186 with a .605 OPS, an 8.8 percent walk rate and a 30.8 percent strikeout rate with 16 extra-base hits, including nine homers. In the next 69 games, Volpe has hit .250 with an .800 OPS, a 9.3 walk percentage, a 23.6 strikeout percentage and 26 extra-base hits, including 11 homers. Some of this was probably just natural growth in his debut season. Clearly, though, the best version of Volpe — if he can get there — would hit .270-plus with, say, a 20 percent strikeout rate and the potential to be a 30-homer/30-steal player after he already has eclipsed 20-20 as a rookie.

The trajectory the Yankees might look at is Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who, in his age-22 rookie season in 2022, had a .254/.294/.428 slash line with 20 homers and 30 steals. Volpe, in his age-22 rookie season is at .218/.296/.407 with 20 homers and 22 steals. This year, Witt Jr., taken second overall in the 2019 draft in which Volpe went 28th, has improved his walk and strikeout rates as well as his defense while slashing .279/.319/.507 with 28 homers and 39 steals. A key for the Yankees leaving 2023 in the rearview mirror will be Volpe taking another leap forward in 2024 similar to what Witt Jr. did this year.

But simply putting both players in the same sentence made me realize what a young man’s game shortstop has become. We may be looking at consecutive free agent shortstop classes after the 2027 and 2028 seasons equal to or better than the last two offseasons, which included Javier Baez, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Dansby Swanson, Trea Turner and, if you want to include him, Marcus Semien, who has played second base. Francisco Lindor would have been in that group, but after being traded from the Guardians, he signed a 10-year extension with the Mets. Of those players, Baez and Story have been disasters and Correa underwhelming.

Among those who currently are on a trajectory to be free agents after the 2027 or 2028 seasons are Volpe, Witt, CJ Abrams, Oneil Cruz, Gunnar Henderon, Zach Neto, Jeremy Pena, Gerardo Perdomo and Ezequiel Tovar (Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz will not have have the service time to be free agents until 2029). A few might sign long-term before free agency. Bryson Stott, a shortstop who moved to second in Philadelphia to accommodate Turner, also is in the 2027 free-agent group. (That the 2022 World Series featured two rookie shortstops in Stott and Houston’s Pena emphasizes the number of quality young players at the position.)

And another wave is nearly upon us, including some — such as Baltimore’s Jackson Holliday, San Diego’s Jackson Merrill, Arizona’s Jordan Lawler, Boston’s Marcelo Mayer and Minnesota’s Brooks Lee — in places that, in theory, already have established shortstops,.

So part of the fascination with Volpe will be to see where he ranks in his swelling peer group. Where does he emerge among his young shortstop cohort? And where does he ultimately fall in among all shortstops? It is conceivable that the talent at the position is going to be so substantial that the 10th-ranked shortstop still will be among the 30 best position players overall.

Therefore, why don’t we see how the 30 teams stack up at the position — now and for next season? We will go in order of Baseball Reference WAR for just shortstops (all stats through the weekend):

1. Rangers: Texas invested half-a-billion dollars into the double-play combo of Seager and Semien after the 2021 season, and so far, it is looking good. Semien is a durable, all-around excellent player. Seager, despite two IL stints, is nevertheless looking like a top-five AL MVP finisher. When Seager has been injured, Texas has weathered the loss by using two players they received from the Yankees in the Joey Gallo trade — Ezequiel Duran and Josh Smith.

2. Rays: A month ago this would have seemed one of those teams with a terrific long-term solution since Wander Franco, despite being in his third major league season, is just two months older than Volpe. Financially careful Tampa Bay believed in Franco so much that it agreed with him after his rookie season on an 11-year, $182 million extension. But now? Franco has not played since Aug. 12 and was recently placed on administrative leave by MLB as it investigates alleged inappropriate behavior between Franco and underage girls.

For now, rookie Osleivis Basabe is the replacement as the Rays have gone from one of the best long-term outlooks at shortstop to one that is, at minimum, clouded.

3. Mets: Lindor’s defense is special and his offense above average, though it would be helpful to the Mets if he could increase his batting average. His presence is going to lead to Ronny Mauricio playing a different position and Luisangel Acuña, too, when he eventually arrives in the majors.

4. Mariners: Seattle traded two shortstop prospects — Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo — for Luis Castillo because it had J.P. Crawford, who, in his prime, has emerged as a terrific two-way shortstop and still has three seasons left on what now looks like a team-friendly, five-year, $51 million extension.

5. Cubs: Swanson has lots in common with Lindor — defense, power and leadership. His presence turned Nico Hoerner into a second baseman.

6. Royals: Since the All-Star break, Witt has played like a cornerstone player — slashing .311/.345/.611 with 14 homers and a .956 OPS. Will Kansas City be willing to make the financial investment to extend him for basically the length of his career?

7. Yankees: Volpe’s defense has been a revelation. There were questions if he would ultimately move to second to allow Oswald Peraza to play short. But Volpe has good range, a true arm and a fine baseball clock. He finished the weekend tied with Swanson for second in the majors in Defensive Runs Saved, behind only Franco. There are few doubts he is the long-term shortstop now.

8. Astros:  Pena’s overall game has taken at least a minor step backward from last season, when he finished sixth for the AL Rookie of the Year and was the MVP of both the ALCS and World Series. Though he has walked more and struck out less, he is putting the ball on the ground far more often.

9. Padres: Xander Bogaerts is a fine player. But for 11 years at $280 million, San Diego needed more than fine, especially since a case can be made that a better defensive shortstop already is playing second (Ha-Seong Kim) and the Padres soon will have to figure out what to do when Merrill is ready?

10. Blue Jays: Bo Bichette can hit. The question remains if he will defend well enough to stay at the position long term.

11. Phillies: Turner returned to the tough crowd of Philadelphia on Aug. 4 hitting .235 and having been dropped to eighth in the order, the lowest point of Season 1 of an 11-year, $300 million contract. Atypically, though, Phillies fans decided to encouragingly cheer Turner each plate appearance, an act that so moved him that he bought billboards around town to thank fans for the gesture. Since that act of kindness, Turner has revived himself over the next 27 games, hitting .364 with 21 extra-base hits, including 11 homers, while going 4-for-4 in steals.

12. Nationals: Abrams and MacKenzie Gore are the first components of the large Juan Soto haul that Washington received from San Diego. The full scope of the deal will not be known for years, certainly not before outfielders Robert Hassell and, especially, James Wood arrive in the majors. But Abrams and Gore have had fine first full seasons in the majors. Abrams has a lot of rough edges and there will be questions if he can stay at shortstop long term and if he can refine his hitting eye. But he has produced 15 homers and 38 steals and his bat has improved as the season has gone along.

13. Orioles: What a bounty of talent. Henderson replaced defensive ace Jorge Mateo in late June and Holliday, the top prospect in the game, is waiting to perhaps replace Henderson as early as next season, though he is just 19. That would leave Jordan Westburg to perhaps be used as part of a trade for a starting pitcher.

14. Dodgers: They have had 12 different players start games at short, including 12 by Mookie Betts, after losing Gavin Lux in spring training to a torn LCL and MCL. Lux should return next season as the starter.

15. Diamondbacks: Perdomo has slowed since a torrid start with Nick Ahmed being worked in at short on a regular basis. Does Perdomo become a trade chip for a starter if Arizona determines Jordan Lawlar is near ready?

16. Reds: De La Cruz and Noelvi Marte were the more touted prospects before the season, but McLain may have locked himself in as the long-term shortstop before being placed on the IL recently with an oblique injury. It is a wealth of athletic, talented chess pieces for the Reds to deploy moving forward.

17. Rockies: Tovar had 49 extra-base hits, but his glove is still well ahead of his bat.

18. Brewers: Willy Adames still brings power and defense. But he will be facing his walk year next season and you wonder if the proactive Brewers will trade him this offseason.

19. Angels: Neto took the fast track as the first player from the 2022 draft to reach the majors, making his debut on April 15. He made an impact on both sides of the ball and his two IL stints have been damaging for a cursed franchise. The Angels are 36-28 when he starts and 28-45 when he doesn’t. It will be interesting to track long term that Neto was taken 13th in the 2022 draft. The Mets, under former Angels GM Billy Eppler, took Kevin Parada 11th and a middle infielder, Jett Williams, with the pick after Neto.

20. Braves: Atlanta looked as if it would go with a youngster in Vaughn Grissom or Braden Shewmake. But club officials did not deem either ready for the full-time role and believed that utilityman Orlando Arcia would, at minimum, field the position at a high level. He has done more than that, hitting 17 homers so far and making his first All-Star Game. He is signed for three years at $6 million (assuming his option is picked up in 2026) going forward.

21. Twins: Correa has been a free agent each of the past two offseasons and a soap opera each time. He could not find a suitable market after the 2021 season and basically accepted a one-year, $35.1 million deal with the Twins to try again after the 2022 campaign. And he tried. And tried. And tried. He agreed initially with the Giants on a 13-year, $350 million pact, then the Mets for 12 years at $315 million (with the plan to move to third base). He failed a physical both times due to issues with his lower right leg.

He returned to the Twins for six years at $200 million and has nearly twice as many double plays (29) as homers (16). He was hitting .220 (.189 with runners in scoring position) with a 90 OPS-plus. He has displaced Royce Lewis, who had a series of leg injuries, to third base. What will Minnesota do when Lee is ready?

22. Cardinals: Touted prospect Masyn Winn was promoted Aug. 18 and did not perform well in his first 14 games (.170, no homers, one walk, 11 strikeouts). The Cardinals have the security blanket that Tommy Edman can play there to begin next season if they deem Winn needs more seasoning.

23. Marlins: Neither Joey Wendle nor Jon Berti were the answer this year (or moving forward). Do they believe young Jacob Amaya can handle the job? If not, would the Marlins repeat their strategy from last offseason, when they used a starter (Pablo Lopez) to secure a second baseman (Luis Arraez), and do the same to land a long-term shortstop solution?

24. Tigers: Detroit is finally escaping the years-long contract albatross of Miguel Cabrera with his retirement after this season. That still leaves them with one of the worst pacts on any team’s ledger in Baez, who has four years at $98 million left. He can opt out after this season contractually, but not reasonably. In two Tigers seasons, Baez has hit .229 with a 76 OPS-plus. Manager A.J. Hinch has been benching Baez more regularly, but neither Zach McKinstry nor Zack Short are long-term solutions.

25. Red Sox: Story received the same six-year, $140 million pact in the same offseason as Baez. Word was out in that courting period that Story’s elbow was not right and might ultimately need Tommy John surgery. And after a sub-par 2022, Story did need surgery. He returned last month and so far, so bad — one homer and a .176 average in 21 games. The club awaits Mayer, the fourth pick in the 2021 draft.

26. Guardians: They traded walk-year Amed Rosario and are seeing if talented Gabriel Arias is ready and the answer.

27. Pirates: This was a lost development season for Oneil Cruz, who fractured an ankle on April 8.

28. A’s: Like so much with the franchise, nothing is about today and everything feels on hold. So, for now, Nick Allen is a stopgap as they await the sixth overall pick in July’s draft, Jacob Wilson.

29. Giants: The Brandon Crawford era now seems at an end as he is struggling through an injury-filled, unsuccessful age-36 season. Will San Francisco deem Marco Luciano ready to take over full time in 2024?

30. White Sox: Tim Anderson has the third-worst Baseball Reference Wins Above Replacement at -1.4 and the two players in front of him were both released by their clubs — Jean Segura and Jurickson Profar. Anderson has a $14 million 2024 option or a $1 million buyout, and off of the poor season plus another bad act moment on the field in which he was knocked out by Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez, it is hard to imagine the White Sox bringing him back. Chicago probably needs a stopgap until Colson Montgomery is ready.