As top prospect Anthony Volpe continues to make a strong case to win the Yankees’ starting shortstop job this spring, Andy Martino of SNY reports that the team are not close to making a decision on who’ll start there on Opening Day.
Volpe, fellow youngster Oswald Peraza, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and to a lesser extent Oswaldo Cabrera have all been in the mix for the shortstop job this spring. The Yankees seemingly prefer Cabrera in a utility role, and the injury to starting center fielder Harrison Bader means he could be called upon for more outfield reps to start the season, so it appears safe to rule him out of the starting job at short.
Kiner-Falefa was the starter for the bulk of the 2022 season, but looks to be headed for more of a utility role himself this season, with the Yankees working him out around the infield, and even giving him starts in the outfield. He’s owed $6MM in his final year of arbitration, and has been speculated as a possible trade candidate given the Yankees’ glut of middle infielders. The Dodgers were one such team thrown around as a possible destination in the wake of Gavin Lux’ injury, but it appears that’s unlikely, with Jon Heyman of the New York Post reporting they’re not interested.
It’s perhaps not surprising that Kiner-Falefa isn’t of interest to the Dodgers. While a $6MM salary is affordable for a team like the Dodgers, it looks steep for a player who only hit for an 85 wRC+ (15 percentage points below the league average), and has a career wRC+ of 82. The team also already has a shortstop in Miguel Rojas, who doesn’t hit a ton, plays decent defense and is owed $5MM in 2023, so it may be that acquiring Kiner-Falefa would just mean bringing in another player who profiles very similar to their in-house option.
In any case, it does appear that Kiner-Falefa is an outsider in the shortstop battle, which leaves it down to Peraza and Volpe. Peraza, 22, is probably the favorite, given he impressed in a short stint in the big leagues last year, hitting .306/.404/.429 across 57 plate appearances and starting in a playoff game. Martino’s report also details how scouts have generally favored Peraza’s glove at short over Volpe’s.
Yet it seems foolish to rule out Volpe. Coming into spring it seemed he was very much a candidate for a mid-season call-up, but probably not an option for Opening Day. He has, after all, only appeared in 22 games at Triple-A. However, the 21-year-old has impressed the team with his bat, slashing .294/.415/.588 going into Saturday’s games (and Volpe is again in the lineup, leading off and playing shortstop today), and with the way he’s carried himself off the diamond, earning the praise of a number of team mates.
With Opening Day less than two weeks away now, the countdown is on to see who is manning short when the Yankees host the Giants on March 30.
$6mil for a utility infielder. To think that the Dodgers didn’t want him. Waste of money.
LA already has a well compensated, glove only infielder. If LA is going to make an addition with a decent tax hit (percentage wise), they are going to wait for a Manny Machado-2018 esque trade
A WAR point costs well over $10M, on the free agent market. Isiah was a 3 WAR player for the Yankees, last year. He’s not the problem on this team, and I seriously doubt they’re in any hurry to trade him.
If they trade him, it’s going to be because a team is willing to pay a price that reflects those 3 WAR points he added.
Of course, the bulk of that value comes from his range at shortstop. Range is INVISIBLE with the naked eye. Only stats see it. A player can look like the best shortstop with the naked eye, and be a below average defender, if he doesn’t have range. Or he can look terrible … because he has great range. With great range come errors, because he gets to balls other shortstops don’t get to, and sometimes those balls are very difficult to convert into outs.
Forgot to mention: without the shift, shortstop range will become more important this year. IKF is a valuable major league player.
WAR points are only worth what a team is actually willing to pay. If you believe IKF was worth $30MM last year, that’s on you. Seems $2MM per is the market price for a player of IKF ability, and some teams find that too much. Its not a one size fits all world.
Styled…Good point about teams’ own valuations of players.
Stansfield seems to ( amusingly) equate the FA market with the trade market.
All arguments based on “$ per WAR” are intrinsically wrong from the start. Value of WAR is not a linear function, period. It should be obvious why, and makes any arguments based on linearity as a premise bogus. If you don’t understand what I’m talking about, don’t use sabermetric-based arguments.
Stanfield, the average WAR was just about $8 million. That average is heavily skewed by mega contracts. And that’s also cost of WAR on free agent market, not cost of WAR as a whole. And no team is going to value him at $24 million
WAR is not a linear function? Is it quadratic? Cubic? Quartile? Quintic? Exponential? Trigonometric? Logarithmic? Monotonic? Does it have critical points? Points of inflection? Is it based on a Negative Binomial Poisson Gauss Transformation of Moment Generating Pareto Optimization Parameter Mumbo Jumbo Italian Hoagie with Brown Mustard Crust Gobbledygook?
Yaba daba do WARS teeny tiny weeny!
Performance is the dependent variable. While park and position adjustments the independent variable. So yes to a degree WAR is a linear function of a players overall production.
It’s going to be Peraza. Volpe will not break camp with the team. They’ll wait until the final week and then assign him to AAA.
I don’t think any of this is a surprise to anyone. We all know this is the way it’s going down. Volpe is going to end up at 2B anyways, not SS.
Where’s the Clipper. Haven’t heard from him in awhile. I need his opinion. As I have my fantasy draft coming up.
@cuso, I agree and because of the hype, I think they prefer to bring him up after establishing some wins. If he has growing pains and Yanks are up 5 games it is more palatable than if they are 5 games back. NY Media/loud mouth fans don’t have patience to let a kid grow and go through the process. it’s frustrating because all these kids should/would be playing already on most other clubs.
Why would the Yankees decide to put the best defensive player at SS? (See Jeter/Rodriguez)
It’s going to be Peraza. Volpe will not break camp with the team. …I don’t think any of this is a surprise to anyone.
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I think this is almost automatic, and I am not sure why this even warrants an article. If Gleyber was gone, then Volpe would start.. But there is -0- rationale for him to split time with Gleyber, or him to share the UIF with IKF.
I’m not convinced Volpe will end up at 2B just because Peraza is a slightly better gloveman. If you can get a premium hitter in the SS slot, you should do it; he’s worth less at 2B. Peraza would be highly valuable in a trade.
@Gasu1- don’t expect Volpe to be playing shortstop with Peraza here, like you said if Peraza is traded then Volpe at short would definitely be a possibility, even Volpe said Peraza is better at short then himself.
Two thumbs up. Why not the same hype on Peraza? Like Volpe, he’s also a speed guy with a good bat, and a better glove at SS. Nothing against Volpe, but Peraza is more ready right now. I do think Peraza sticks at short, Volpe maybe gets called up to play 2B probably by midseason, and NYY clears out some salary (Donaldson, IKF, Gleybar) to make a run at Ohtani. Peraza/Volpe looks like a nice keystone combo for the future.
If Volpe makes the team it will be at the expense of Peraza. IKF isn’t starting so moving him does nothing for having Volpe and Peraza because they will both start. You have to move either Donaldson or Torres.
Exactly. Not to mention the Yankees aren’t going to want two rookies starting.
I like Peraza as the SS, and I think Volpe makes the team if they can move IKF. I see Volpe as more as a 2nd or third basemen. He reminds me of Bregman. I think he ends up at 3rd in 24. Yanks will look to move Donaldson, IKF, and maybe Gleyber by the deadline. Ideally Peraza plays SS, Vo;pe 2nd or 3rd, and DJ is the utility man moving forward. I think Cabrera could be the flash in the pan player of the group
Yeah, been waiting on this 21 year old for so long. Lol
He came on the scene four years ago and has been talked about nonstop (as w all yankee “phenoms”). Yankee prospects are discussed more than anyone else, the ratio prob exceeds guys who have been prospects longer.
So yeah, we’re sick of hearing about him. However good he may or may not be.
So no one should write an article involving him unless he’s starting? Tough crowd.
In the same sentence, you used a definitive statement (Yankee prospects are discussed more than anyone else), while giving an unsupported response (the ratio prob…). Then you said that you’re tired of hearing about him. You seem a bit blinded by anger here. Maybe don’t click the Volpe article next time so that you don’t get triggered?
He came on the scene four years ago
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He’s only had 1,000 minor ABs, and is only 21. He remains a great prospect.
Bored with Volpe? Cool; I have a laser pointer that you might be more interested in.
Volpe. Dominguez.
Volpe is going to be a bust. See Gary Sanchez, Luis Severino, Chance Adams, Mike Ford, Greg Bird, Clint Frazier, Miguel Andujar for reference. The list doesn’t lie
Lol with fans like these.
@trot, def not a true fan with that bitter outlook.
@sara, true fan/decent human being, I mean I guess a true fan could hope a 21 year old kid fails. Id certainly follow up with a few other adjectives but trying to keep it simple.
Andjuar before he got hurt was pretty good
Severino shouldn’t be included in that group and plenty of teams have long lists of overhyped prospects who became busts. Volpe’s skill set makes him a safe bet to at least be an above average player even if he never reaches superstar status
Remember that prospect named Aaron Judge?! Whatever happened to him?
I remember how they refused to trade Judge when he first was called up and was at peak value. His new contract makes him almost untradeable. (Heard this theory from Yankee fans when discussing any small market team’s young players)
Why would they want to trade him? They aren’t the Rays. They aren’t trying to constantly reload the farm system by trading any veteran of value two years before they hit FA. Peak value for a player is right after they break a 60-year-old home run record and win the MVP.
Why would you want a 21 yr old to bust or any minor league player not make it? Shameful attitude.
All teams have top prospects that do not pan out. You could easily say see Judge, Soriano, Jeter, Pettite – most of the Yankees rookies have been traded to other teams and have had very productive careers. Of the top 100 MLB prospects, how many will truly be amazing.
Volpe has all the tools to be a top tier player, who knows if that happens – let’s talk again in 5 years.
I totally agree with you, with all the metrics today, teams have a much better idea of what they have in prospects.
Going back aways, aren’t you? Only Judge is still playing, while all of the names he mentioned are still hanging on in someone else’s system, trying to make it. Lets keep it current.
I’m old. I didn’t go back to Rivera, Posada, Pettitte, and Jeter because I was trying to keep it current. Michael King, Loisiaga, Marinaccio, Clarke Schmidt, Severino, German, Peraza, Cabrera, and Judge, all came through the system. Sorry if that isn’t good enough.
Wao,,,you are rigth !!
frazier, bird and andujar got hurt. before that, all three were living up to their promise. to me that’s different from a bust
I think they should give him the Job. Trade IKF for some prospects.
No one is offering prospects for IKF. Plus, this is the Yankees, not the Reds. Our bench players should make 6 million per year.
They’d be able to get prospects for him. Not any top 100 prospects but pretty damn sure they could get prospects for him. He’s definitely a valuable asset for many teams.
Lol. Typical Yankee fan. He will get an organizational player or a wildcard that is highly likely to amount to nothing. That’s all a glove only SS, making $6 MM is worth.
“He will get an organizational player or a wildcard”
In other words “prospect”.
This can all be solved by a simple move that will never be made….move Torres to third. The reason it will never happen is because Cashman is incapable of admitting he made a mistake with the trash that occupies third now. And because Yankee fans who have never seen Torres even attempt to play third will stop it before it ever happening by inundating social media platforms with their astute pronouncements of how they know he can’t do it.
IKF has a gold glove at third. So he is the one that I would put at third, but you are correct that the bigger problem is Donaldson and his 25 million dollar contract.
No one knows how Torres would handle third. He may become a gold glover. So why put someone who weakens the team offensively at a power position? If they are willing to stick IKF in center why is it so hard to try Torres at third? The answer is obvious.
If Torres could handle 3b he’d be there right now.
You could have at least TRIED to comprehend my point about Cashman before you posted. Geez…
IDK if we can make broad statements about Cashman based on the Donaldson trade, but yes, it sucked. I’d rather have Urshela on the roster for a quarter of the money than Donaldson.
I did and offered a simpler more logical conclusion.
Do you have some sort of brain block? First, you ignore the Cashman point I made then you don’t even see yourself in my next point about Yankee fans who’ve never seen him play third deciding he can’t. God, dude, drop the selfies and get connected. Please, no reply is necessary. I already know how that’s going to go.
That statement is based on all Cashman’s moves and nonmoves. Montas, Donaldson, Hicks, Frazier, Andujar, Sanchez, Urshela etc. And that’s just the recent ones
Not every move has worked out, that is obvious. No GM is going to be perfect in the transactions that they make. At least the Yankees are trying to win. I would rather have a GM that tries things that don’t work out, then to have an organization that tries nothing and is all out of ideas.
I agree. BUT he has more money to work with than virtually anyone and overall he’s failed miserably. Everyone that defends him keeps repeating the same nonsense about them finishing first but the Vikings finished 13-3 this year and in first too yet no one considered them good.for GOOD reason….they weren’t.
Which organization do you wish the Yankees were more like?
I predict that the Yanks will eat whatever is necessary on Donaldson’s and Hicks’ contract this year if they do not improve over last season and injuries don’t dictate them staying.
No way, Donaldson is making 20 million he has a long leash. All bets are off at the deadline.
Dodgers are scary good, anytime someone gets hurt, they just plug in one of their endless prospects, LA and SD games will be wild
The Dodgers scouting apparatus certainly needs to be commended, even with not so high draft picks they are finding and most importantly developing said talent.
The Cards’ll cut you a heck of a deal on a glove-first shortstop named DeJong!
Will they take Donaldson??!!
Even Mrs. Donaldson wouldn’t make that trade.
Andy Martino is a joke
That’s a lot of wind to expend on explaining why the Dodgers have no use for a player.
It’s pretty clear IKF’s value ceiling has been exceeded by the arbitration salary and what was the stop gap is now the guy the Yankees would love to have become a free agent at the end of last season to make this an easy decision with a position that would need to be filled.
The catch-22 is that the only way to trade IKF for anything is to play him enough that he shows break even to surplus value for his performance.
But playing IKF enough to show that kind of tradable value takes playing ti e away from Volpe, who needs to establish himself and can help the team more overall.
It’s a pickle of a conundrum.
Torres to be traded to the Marlins for Jeffrey Springs before opening day.
Volpe starts the season in the Bronx against the Giants.
Springs plays for Tampa tho…
EDIT: Didn’t see correction below.
Correction, Torres traded to Tampa Bay for Springs, or to the Marlins for Luzardo.
Torres ain’t getting either of those guys. Not to mention he makes too much money for Tampa Bay and Miami is set at second.
Where would Torres play for either of those teams? If you are going to propose a trade, you have to target teams that need a 2B.
Okay, how about this one:
Torres to the Brewers for Eric Lauer?
This season will be the 14th consecutive season the Yankees don’t win a World Series. But at least they recently gave an albatross contract (yet another 1 for the Yankees) to the 31 year old, fragile, massive Aaron Judge. There’s no plan and Brian Cashman should have been fired 3 years ago at the latest.
Agreed!!
@saratoga72- No it’s way too early to bring up Volpe, maybe after the all star break, definitely not now. Dominguez needs at least another year, he’s only in AA. Smh
You do realize that ST pitching isn’t the same as regular season? Most pitchers now are more concerned with execution than results. The biggest jump in competition is that from AAA to MLB. Volpe has barely played in AAA. Call it what you want but more reps in the minors can only benefit him.
The ONLY reason ANYONE has heard of Volpe is because he was a Yankee first round draft pick. He wasn’t even first round material but the Yankees threw their money at him. Now we never stop hearing about the guy. Ho hum.
BTW, he lives a mile and a half from my house.
Yes, he’s a good player but it remains to be seen how he does. It’s a little bit ridiculous.
Or they could just play him as necessary and absorb however much of the contract they have to if they chose to move him.
It doesnt matter what we think here anyway. Yankees will do what they always do ,most likely, play the high priced washed up veterans, and sent back down the prospects, whether they are ready to play or not imho.
The first thing you have to understand is that all MLB scouts and GMs know what they are doing a lot more than web bloggers. Everyone has their opinion and hindsignt is 20/20.
You’re preaching to the choir.
Volpe is The Man
Rojas is gonna hit .290/20/90, just watch. It’s that Dodger magic, or whatever’s going around their clubhouse…..