Anthony Volpe returns to Yankees lineup after four-game layoff

MINNEAPOLIS — For the first time in a week, Anthony Volpe was back in the Yankees lineup on Tuesday.

After four games when he was unavailable or limited because of a cortisone injection in his left shoulder, plus one on either end of that when he was simply on the bench, Volpe returned to the lineup against the Twins for a chance to prove he can still be an impact player down the stretch and into October.

“He’s ready to go,” manager Aaron Boone said before Tuesday’s game at Target Field. “And also, Caballero’s not a guy that plays every single day and I want to be mindful of that, as he’s a little beat up too. I want to get Anthony back into the mix here and hopefully give us a spark today.”

Caballero took pregame grounders and batting practice, so there was no indication he was dealing with anything more than it being near the end of a long season.

But he had spent the past week at shortstop, marking the first time he had started six straight days since May of 2024.

Volpe, meanwhile, was batting .145 with a .454 OPS and 37 strikeouts in 32 games before Tuesday.

The 14 games before that — coinciding with the first two weeks after he got the first cortisone injection in his shoulder over the All-Star break — he hit .280 with a 1.035 OPS, giving the Yankees hope that he could be capable of a similar bounce back this time around.

“I feel like he’s in a good place physically,” Boone said. “But that being said, I feel like that’s been the case most of the year. He’s just got to focus on what he does at the plate and put himself in a position to make good swing decisions. Hopefully it’ll click for him right away.”