Volpe the anchor in Yankees' new-look infield

This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Yankees pitchers and catchers report to Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 11, and with that date approaching, anticipation is building for the 2025 season. This is the fourth installment in our “Around the Horn” series, breaking down each area of the Yankees’ roster, continuing with the infield.

It was the moment Anthony Volpe said he dreamed about “probably every night” as a young Yankees fan, rounding the bases after belting a grand slam in the World Series. He only wished he’d been able to savor it more.

Volpe said he “blacked out” immediately after belting that third-inning drive in Game 4 of the Fall Classic this past October, his dash around the basepaths reduced to a blur. But he did hear his name chanted by the Yankee Stadium crowd later that night, which he said ranked as “definitely number one” on his list of career highlights.

At least, so far. Volpe will return for a third season as the Yankees’ starting shortstop in 2025, helping anchor an infield that should have new faces in every other spot.

Veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was signed to a one-year, $12.5 million contract in December, with the 2022 National League MVP and four-time Gold Glove Award winner hoping a change of scenery can help him rebound from the first below-average offensive season of his career.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. is expected to shift from third base to second base, according to manager Aaron Boone, who said he envisions a spring competition between DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza to handle the hot corner.

That all could increase the focus on the 23-year-old Volpe, who won a Gold Glove as a rookie, then had mixed results in his sophomore campaign. Playing in 160 games, Volpe batted .243/.293/.364 (86 OPS+) with 27 doubles, seven triples, 12 homers, 60 RBIs and 28 stolen bases, seeing most of his starts as the Yanks’ leadoff hitter.

Volpe’s numbers were helped by a selection of hot runs, including a 16-game stretch beginning on Opening Day in which he batted .373/.464/.542 and a 21-game hit streak from May 7-29 in which he batted .341/.378/.550. But there were rough stretches and valleys, which prompted Boone to bump Volpe down in the lineup.

“We talked a lot about Anthony all year,” Boone said. “We talked about some of the mechanical adjustments he made going into the season that worked, then he struggled, had his ups-and-downs offensively. I think I maintained all along, though, that I think [he is] just not a finished offensive product yet.

“I think the different adjustments and things he's done are going to serve him well in the end, and we are going to look up in several seasons and we're going to see a really good offensive player.”

With Gleyber Torres now a Tiger, Volpe’s new double-play partner appears to be Chisholm, who gamely tackled the challenge of third base after being acquired in July despite never playing the position as a professional. Second base should be a more familiar spot for Chisholm, who has logged 167 career games there.

Chisholm will look to reprise the production bump he enjoyed after joining the Yankees, hitting .273/.325/.500 (130 OPS+) with seven doubles, 11 homers, 23 RBIs and 18 stolen bases in 46 games. Overall, Chisholm posted a .256/.324/.436 slash line (107 OPS+) in 147 games for the Yanks and Marlins.

“Before you play for the Yankees, you think it's really [going to be] super strict,” Chisholm said. “But you really can be yourself as a Yankee. You've just got to do it the right way and the professional way. … I think they're just letting me be me. [I’m] enjoying every moment that I'm a Yankee.”

Somewhat remarkably considering their history of slugging first basemen, the Yankees did not muster a single home run from that position after July 31, when LeMahieu cracked one in Philadelphia. In replacing Anthony Rizzo, Goldschmidt hopes to correct that, coming off a campaign in which he hit .245/.302/.414 (98 OPS+) with 33 doubles, 22 homers and 65 RBIs in 154 games for the Cardinals.

“I didn’t play well most of the year last year, and there’s no excuses for that,” said Goldschmidt, 37. “That was on me. Hopefully, looking back, there was a lot of things I learned. I know there were a lot of things that I learned in that first half, some things that I did wrong and got exposed. I just wasn’t hitting pitches that for most of my career I’ve been able to connect on.”

Though the Yankees were connected to free agent Alex Bregman and Cardinals veteran Nolan Arenado at various points of the winter, Boone is preparing to give another opportunity to LeMahieu, who has been hindered by injuries the past several seasons and has two years remaining under contract with the club.

LeMahieu, 36, batted .204/.269/.259 with two homers and 26 RBIs in 67 games last season. His competition at third will be the utility man Cabrera -- who turns 26 in March and has appeared at every position but catcher in the bigs -- and the 24-year-old Peraza, a onetime top prospect who has yet to see his potential translate to Major League success.

“We’ll see what happens, but [LeMahieu is] someone that wants to be in a position to help us win a championship,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “That can come in my forms and fashions. I have no idea, it’s unpredictable. What is predictable is he’s a committed, talented athlete and I know his desire is to have a positive impact.”