One of the big storylines for the Yankees in spring training will be the shortstop position, and whether Isiah Kiner-Falefa will keep the job after a disappointing 2022, or if one of the team’s touted prospects will prove themselves ready for the starting gig.
If you ask Aaron Boone, he doesn’t feel the Yanks could go wrong with any of the candidates. It will just come down to who proves themselves the most this spring.
“I’m really excited about penciling in any name of what they can be for us this year,” Boone said. “We got a taste of [Oswald] Peraza last year at the end of the year…it was my first time really getting to be around him a lot, I thought he acquitted himself very well. I think IKF has had a really good winter, and I think year two for him here could be even better. Anthony [Volpe], we think he’s gonna be a great player in this league.”
Volpe is considered to be the most interesting option, being the team’s top-ranked prospect who tore up the minor leagues down the stretch of last season. The Yankees didn’t make any big splashes in free agency at shortstop over the last two winters because of their belief in Volpe (and Peraza), so many are anxious to see what Volpe can become.
But does he have a realistic chance of winning the job this spring?
“I don’t know specifically how to answer that,” Boone said. “If I feel like he looks like the best option, or if he’s ready to go do this, then we wouldn’t be averse to doing that. But I don’t think it’s ‘He’s gotta do this, this or that.’ You kind of just watch, and it’ll show itself.”
Asked whether he has a preference for how the shortstop competition goes this spring, Boone can only hope one of the candidates separates himself as the clear choice, though it could even change during the regular season.
“I don’t think there’s any way I’m hoping it necessarily goes,” Boone said. “You’d like for it to declare itself at some level, but you’d like for the guys to continue to make it hard, because you feel like they all bring something potentially special to the table. So we’ll let that play itself out.
“Obviously, performance always matter, but hopefully, maybe it will declare itself about who is the best guy to be in that spot when we break camp.
In the end, we feel like whatever way it goes, there’s a few really good options there…maybe it plays out through the entire year as well.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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