Welcome to The Show, AV! pic.twitter.com/Gq5VMRvqN0
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 26, 2023
Aaron Boone had Anthony Volpe fooled for a moment.
The next great homegrown Yankees star has made the Opening Day roster. But not before Boone and general manager Brian Cashman had a little fun with him. The Bombers released video of Boone breaking the news to Volpe, a New Jersey native and former Delbarton star. But before he told the rookie shortstop he made the team, he had a little fun.
“This is a difficult conversation to have to have, because you came in and played your ass off … but at the end of the day, you’ve got 20-something games at Triple-A and there’s always room for development,” Boone started out.
“But at the end, I think that development should happen in the big leagues. Welcome to New York.”
Volpe’s reaction in part: “My heart is beating.”
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Understandably so. The Yankees have not come out and said whether Volpe will be the starting shortstop Thursday against the Giants at Yankee Stadium. But that seems a foregone conclusion at this point. It would make little sense to bring Volpe to the big leagues if he was not going to play every day. And as Boone said, he will get a chance to continue developing on that level.
The news is not a surprise, per se. The Delbarton product has had a sensational spring for the Bombers. He has been the clear-cut top shortstop in camp. But given his age (21) and the aforementioned lack of Triple-A experience, there was some thought the Yankees might have Volpe start the year with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre while rolling with Oswald Peraza at shortstop. If only for a few weeks. But Volpe’s torrid performance took that possibility out of the Yankees’ hands.
James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
