The New York Yankees made a surprising change this weekend, benching struggling shortstop Anthony Volpe for performance-based reasons for the first time all season.

For months, Volpe has been penciled into the starting lineup almost automatically, even while his production cratered in alarming fashion.

His numbers tell the story of a talented player still searching for consistency: 18 homers, 15 steals, but just an 86 wRC+ and subpar defense.

Anthony Volpe’s defensive decline raises alarms

The bigger issue has been Volpe’s defense, which went from elite to disastrous seemingly overnight. Last season, he posted a remarkable +14 OAA.

This year? He’s fallen all the way to -7 OAA, one of the sharpest defensive regressions in all of baseball.

For a position as crucial as shortstop, those

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