Yankees put slumping Anthony Volpe back in starting lineup after 'mental reset'

The Yankees felt they needed to do something to get more from shortstop Anthony Volpe, so they took action by removing him from the starting lineup on consecutive days.

On Tuesday night, they were hoping to see if the move would bring results.

Jose Caballero started at shortstop on Sunday and Monday, but Volpe returned against the Nationals at the Stadium and was installed as the No. 8 hitter in the lineup.

Volpe had a .121/.171/.242 slash line over 20 games since Aug. 2 and was in a 1-for-28 slump. Though he’d only made one fielding error in the month, it was his AL-leading 17th of the season.

Volpe, who described himself on Sunday night as “raw” about the decision to put him on the bench, said he mostly stuck to his regular routine Sunday – when he entered late in a defensive move when Caballero replaced Giancarlo Stanton in rightfield – and Monday. He did extensive film work to see if his swing mechanics had changed and said they hadn’t.

“I just wanted to stay game-ready as much as I could and stick to my routine,” Volpe told Newsday Tuesday afternoon. “I think the time (not starting) will help, like just a mental reset. I feel good physically and I was just working on everything I work on.”

Manager Aaron Boone has heard the way the Stadium crowds have reacted to each Volpe failure as they have piled up and knows he’s come under intense scrutiny. But he doesn’t view the situation as some sort of calamity.

“He’s eager to get back in there, whereas sometimes, man, you're going through it (and) you're getting beaten down,” Boone said. “It's like you need that little bit of an exhale. . . This isn’t that.”

“There’s those times – and I've been there as a player – where it's like, ‘Hey, we’ll give you a couple days here to kind of reset,’ ” he added. “I don't view it that way necessarily for Anthony, although hopefully there's some value in him having a couple of days and just watching from a different vantage point.”

For the season, Volpe’s batting average was .208 entering play Tuesday, though he did have 18 home runs and 65 RBIs.

He had a hot hitting streak right after the All-Star break and capped a 13-game stretch with a slash line of .298/.320/.766 and seven home runs with a four-hit effort in a loss to the Marlins on Aug. 1. But he’d been completely ineffective at the plate since.

“He is, in so many ways especially on the defensive side of the ball, the last few weeks really started to play really, really well again,” Boone said. “And I know there's a confidence in there that he's going to get it going offensively, too.”

Volpe was asked about the way the Stadium fans have reacted to his recent performance and replied, “I love (that) the fans care as much about winning as I do. This is what it means to be a Yankee. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. You’ve got to earn everything here.”

“I see where they’re coming from, but no one's going to be as [ticked off] or as frustrated as I am,” Volpe added. “But that (frustration) comes with the confidence and belief you have in yourself.”

Notes & quotes

Righthanded reliever Fernando Cruz, out since late June with an oblique strain, was activated from the IL before Tuesday’s game. It was his second stint on the IL after suffering a shoulder strain in May. Cruz appeared in 32 games this season and pitched 33 innings to a 3.00 ERA with 54 strikeouts. “All hands on deck . . .   I'm not going to shy away from him,” Boone said. “We took our time with the build up . . . to try and be in a position to where we don't have to baby him too much.” . . . Lefthander Ryan Yarbrough, out with an oblique strain since late June, was scheduled to be the starter for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Tuesday with a goal of stretching out to 60-65 pitches. His next start could be for the big league club.

By Roger Rubin

roger.rubin@newsday.com@rogrubin

Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.