New York Yankees star Anthony Volpe has been struggling for the better part of the last two years, especially on defense. Yet, he retains the team’s confidence.
On SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio on Wednesday, Adam Schein spoke with former Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter about Volpe. Jeter said the club is banking on Volpe’s upside, but admitted that he “doesn’t know” the player well. This prompted Schein to take aim at Volpe.
“First of all, a couple of things,” Schein said. “He has no relationship with him. Hey Anthony, you want to pick up the phone and call Derek Jeter? He’d Return the call. He’d Text you back. That’s one red flag. A guy like that should not be in the major leagues. That’s the interpretation of what Derek Jeter is telling me.”
Schein further pointed to Volpe’s shortcomings at the plate in the last four years. Volpe has never posted an OPS above .666 in any of his four MLB seasons, and his career .224 batting average and .662 OPS are well below league-average offensive production for an everyday player.
“Anthony Volpe is making these kinds of mistakes, and he’s been a bad offensive player,” Schein said. “Look at his stats. Watch him play the last four years. He can’t hit. Look at his batting average now. He can’t hit, he can’t field, he can’t run, and he has no fundamentals. He does some of the most insane things you’ve ever seen on the baseball field.”
Jeter, meanwhile, said the Yankees are “very high” on Volpe.
“I don’t personally know him that well. We’ve had a couple of conversations. I don’t know him well, but yeah, I think they’re banking on a big upside and hopefully he can put it together here. They can put it together soon.”
Adam Schein On Why He Thinks Yankees Rate Anthony Volpe Highly
The Yankees selected Anthony Volpe in the first round of the 2019 MLB draft. The 30th overall pick was a highly touted shortstop out of Delbarton School in Morristown, New Jersey.
Adam Schein believes that by promoting Volpe, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is trying to save face after a costly draft mistake. The analyst believes Volpe is a minor-leaguer at best.
“You know what that is? That’s a minor leaguer,” Schein added. “You can’t function with Anthony Volpe because the players in the clubhouse know it. It means Brian Cashman is trying to save face and rationalize taking Volpe as high as he did in the draft and saying dumb things in the past like, ‘We’ll let it play out on the field, and I believe in this guy.’
“No. Volpe is everything wrong with the New York Yankees, and that’s a problem. So I think it’s incumbent upon the Yankees to get rid of him so they can move on.”
Volpe continues to be a major problem for the Yankees. This season, he is hitting .246 with just one home run and 13 RBIs in 45 games played.
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