Anthony Volpe has fallen out of favor with a lot of fans of the New York Yankees.
He didn’t help his cause on Monday night against the Chicago White Sox.
With two outs in the ninth and a five-run lead, Volpe drifted back on a popup into shallow center.
The shortstop stuck up one hand, just his glove with no support, to catch the ball. He didn’t catch it.
Instead, Volpe stumbled just a tad as a he bobbled and then dropped the baseball to the ground.
It forced the Yankees to bring closer David Bednar into the game.
Anthony Volpe drops what would have been the final out of the game. And now David Bednar has to come in to close the game pic.twitter.com/HDHanUcsQx
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 28, 2026
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Bednar threw just five pitches, striking out the only batter he faced, so it wasn’t hugely costly from that perspective. The Yankees still won, 9-5.
It was just one of those moments that simply looks brutal for Volpe.
It’s not really about the one hand versus two hands thing. Most MLB players catch popups and flyballs with just one hand.
But the reality is that they catch them. Volpe usually does, too.
In this moment, his hand-eye coordination let him down. He has had a tendency in his career to make silly defensive mistakes, and this was the latest.
Volpe’s potential future value is bigger if he can stick at shortstop, but he has enough moments that make you wonder whether he will.
He had a good hitting weekend, which temporarily quieted some concerns, but the Yankees still seem to be awaiting the arrival of either George Lombard Jr. or a trade to fully solve that position.