In fact, that won't happen. It might on some teams. Not this one. The current roster may show sinkholes in LF and 3B, and a cattle-call at SS, but there is no still place for the 21-year-old Volpe. Not this spring.
If that sounds crazy, you don't follow the Yankees. They are no team for rawboned rooks. They haven't held open a spring training slot for a 21-year-old since 1996, when Derek Jeter arrived. (Robby Cano, Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge came up in midseason.) They won't start now.
Why not? Money, of course. They'll pay Josh Donaldson and Aaron Hicks a combined $30 million this year. (Remember: At IIH, we do NOT blame the player for a bad contract; he's just feeding his family.) They might stumble all spring, but the mere thought of them going elsewhere and thriving keeps Brian Cashman awake at night. That's how you get run out of NYC, and it's one of the reasons why he assembled a troika of old and expendable execs: The course is called Butt Covering 101.
But let's get back to Volpe, whose status recently soared in prospect-rankings that list him in the Top 10 in all of baseball - this, despite a 2022 that was - statistically, at least - a meh-burger. (He hit .249 with 21 HR.)
Look, I recognize this is blaspheme, but let's voice it anyway: Over the next two weeks, Volpe might command the highest trade chip value he will ever again hold. Any GM that acquires him can tout Volpe as being one of the game's premier prospects, and maybe ready this year.
This might just be the last time Volpe grazes in such a rarified pasture.
And whatever happens in Tampa, stays in Tampa, there is no quick path for Volpe this spring.
Okay, you say: What if Volpe hits Tampa like a hurricane - hits .400 in a small sample size? He excels at SS and finds himself in late March challenging Oswald Peraza for the position? Even then, he almost surely goes to Triple A, because it would mean the Yankees having to send Peraza back to Scranton, death to the young prospect. At least with Volpe, Scranton is merely the pre-ordained plan.
Could he join the battle for 3B? Nope. That's between Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu. Second base? Uh-uh. Switch Gleyber Torres for Donaldson. There are no openings for Volpe, who - wherever he goes - must play every day.
The minute Volpe starts in Scranton, all those fancy Top 10 rankings go into the shredder. If he starts cold, that's what the other GMs will see.
Could the Yankees cash in their trade chip when its currency is at its peak exchange rate? I'm not saying they should. If they do, Cashman could go down in history as "the guy who traded Anthony Volpe." But if they're seriously chasing the Pirates outfielder Brian Reynolds, let's be real: Volpe might be the only play. And right now, he's everybody's sweetheart.
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11 comments:
Do you really trust this idiot with trading Volpe. He'll get Michael Pineda - part deux for him.
Volpe and Jhony Brito to the Twins for Joey Gallo (no shift!) and Sonny Gray. Gallo solves that pesky LF problem and Sonny Boy as insurance against Frankie Yankee's dead shoulder. Lineup set, circle completed!
No to trading Volpe, whatever happens this Spring. Yes he might fade like the Beatles on “Hey Jude” (thanks Jeff Lynne), but allowing prospects to develop is not the problem. Not giving them a fair opportunity when they’re ready and Instead overpaying past their prime “name” players in an attempt to put asses in the seats is why we don’t win championships. Blame those who do that, hold them responsible, and then move on and away from failure.
BTR, you're absolutely correct, but that will never happen with this team as long as Cashman is there and he's there for life. Unless something happens to Hal. Not saying anything will happen, I mean, it would be a shame if something happened to such a fine owner, I mean...a real shame.
The Genius would never trade Volpe. He held on to Clint Frasier.
JM - don't mean to have read between the lines here or anything, but, uhm - what do YOU think is going to happen to HAL?
After all, I think he's putting himself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
Volpe is not going anywhere...Safe Trade Ca$hman has got this...
You know, AA. People have...accidents.
Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do.
I'm half crazy all for the love of you.
It won't be a stylish marriage, I can't afford a carriage.
But you'll look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle built for two.
I agree, Duque. But once again, you have gone past the limits of the known universe and run smack into...The Cashman Conundrum!
Keep the player? He'll rot away on the farm, behind people who aren't better, just paid more.
Trade him? No doubt, it will be the worst trade possible.
The only solution to The Cashman Conundrum?
Get rid of Cashman.
Reynolds is looking for big money in two years. So far I'm not impressed with his bat, I should say it is a good centerfielder's bat, but in two years is he still a great centerfielder? What if The Martian is ready? I've stopped excusing The Brain five years ago, but I have to concede that the job is a HARD one. How many rings do the fuckin Dodgers have in the past forty-two years?
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