Volpe starting to feel like himself again after serious shoulder injury

TAMPA, Fla. -- Anthony Volpe woke up in a New York hospital bed in late October, groggy as the anesthesia faded, when he learned how significant the damage to his left shoulder had been.

“I was excited when they showed me how cleaned up and fixed everything was,” Volpe said. “That was the motivating and positive thing to come out of it, even though right after surgery I felt horrible. Knowing that it’s fixed, then it’s just a road to recovery.”

The injury was a partially torn labrum aggravated on May 3, when Volpe felt a “pop” after diving for a ball on the left-field grass at Yankee Stadium.

Though it was evaluated by multiple MRIs and addressed with two cortisone injections during the season -- one during the All-Star break and one in September, after he re-aggravated it on Sept. 7 -- the damage was more extensive than initially expected.

“We had an idea of what the best case, what the worst case and everything in between would have been,” Volpe said. “I wasn’t shocked. I had great trainers and a great doctor.

“ … I’m not really looking in the past. I just get excited about what it could be like when it’s all healed.”

As he goes through the early paces of spring work, running and participating in most defensive drills, Volpe said the difference has been noticeable. He resumed taking dry swings this week, marking the beginning stage of his hitting progression.

“Judging on how everything’s gone so far, I’m just excited,” Volpe said.

He will not be ready for Opening Day, with José Caballero likely starting the season at shortstop. Still, Volpe is not ruling out an April return; general manager Brian Cashman has indicated May will be more likely.

The final hurdle before Minor League rehab games will involve diving on the shoulder again, something Volpe is not yet permitted to do.

“Once that’s cleared up, I’ll be good to go,” Volpe said.

Volpe completed his third big league season in 2025, hitting 19 home runs while notching 18 stolen bases, but he batted just .212 with a .663 OPS. He had a .786 OPS before May 3 and a .628 OPS over the rest of the season.

A Gold Glove Award winner in '23, Volpe committed 19 errors in '25, which tied for third-most in the Majors.

Volpe did have a strong American League Wild Card Series against the Red Sox, batting .364 and belting a home run off Garrett Crochet in Game 1. But he went 1-for-15 with 11 strikeouts in the AL Division Series loss to the Blue Jays.

He said the difficult season taught him a lot about himself, especially how to battle through adversity.

“I just can’t wait to go back out there and play and help the team win,” Volpe said. “If I do that and play the way I know I can play, everything will take care of itself. I appreciate everything that comes with being the shortstop for the New York Yankees. I wouldn’t trade it for the world."