Anthony Volpe picked up a hit in Tuesday night’s win over the Mariners to improve his batting average to .191, a mark that has led some to wonder if the Yankees will send down their prized rookie to figure things out in the minors.
Aaron Boone and Hal Steinbrenner had shot down that idea in recent weeks, and on Tuesday, Brian Cashman did as well, while adding that the team isn’t currently considering calling up Oswald Peraza.
“When we made the decision to go with Volpe, and he earned that right with his play, we stated it was a long-term commitment, and we were going to allow him to develop,” Cashman said. “Right now, we need our offense to do better, but ultimately, we’re not relying on one of the rookies to be filling in a gap, so to speak…this offense is going to be geared up if the people we’re more used to seeing are doing what they’re more capable of doing.
“He’ll get his sea legs under him. We have no doubt about that…We're not shying away from Anthony Volpe. We believe in him. We're invested in him and we know that there's a payoff there for us as long as we walk that tightrope with him.”
Josh Donaldson, another struggling Yankee infielder, recently said he hadn’t decided on potential retirement after this season, as the 37-year-old has struggled offensively since coming to the Yankees before last season. Still, Cashman says the Yanks need a better look at the former MVP.
“I'd like to get him some really consistent at-bats before we try to assess what's going on,” Cashman said. “Obviously, last year, he had a subpar offensive season, but prior to that, he's always been an above-average offensive player. This year, obviously got out of the gates, I thought, looking good. And then he got hurt and then he reaggravated his injury. So he's been down for a long period of time. So I'd like to get him some runway here, where he gets consistent bats and then get on a roll and be in a better position to judge.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
Listen live to WFAN:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker (just say ‘Play W-F-A-N’)