José Caballero is returning from the injured list Friday, but Anthony Volpe is sticking around.
The Yankees optioned Spencer Jones to Triple-A following Thursday’s 2-0 loss to the Blue Jays, opening a spot for Caballero but keeping Volpe on the roster — albeit in an uncertain role.
Aaron Boone had indicated that the plan is for Caballero to reclaim his starting shortstop job after missing just the minimum 10 days on the IL with a fracture in his right middle finger. That would relegate Volpe to a bench role, without any defensive versatility to play elsewhere, though evidently he showed the Yankees enough while filling in for Caballero to at least extend his stay.
“[Volpe] is doing great,” Caballero said Thursday afternoon. “It definitely means a lot to me [Boone giving a vote of confidence]. But I just want to be in there and help the team as much as I can.”
Whether the Yankees start to work Volpe out at different positions remains to be seen, though that likely would be easier to accomplish at Triple-A. Caballero has the ability to play the super-utility role, but his defense at shortstop was the best in the majors as of Thursday by Defensive Runs Saved.
Instead, Jones was the odd man out after his first two weeks in the big leagues in which the outfielder hit just 4-for-24 (.167) with 12 strikeouts and a .426 OPS. His demotion is further indication that Trent Grisham could be back in the lineup as soon as Friday after he missed Thursday’s game with left knee discomfort — though an MRI earlier in the day showed no structural damage.
“It’s a relief,” Grisham said. “Anytime you get something in your knee, I guess you’re a little worried. I was pretty optimistic with how I was feeling that there would be no structural damage. But still good to get the news.”
Grisham indicated that the imaging did show some inflammation in his knee, but said it was unrelated to Thursday’s issue. He said he has banged it multiple times this season, creating some bruising on the top of his kneecap, though Thursday he felt the discomfort on the inside of his knee.
“I think there’s a chance he’s in there [Friday],” Boone said before Jones was sent down. “Today went pretty well, he did a number of things. We’ll move him around some more [Friday] and potentially be an option for us tomorrow.”
Without Jones, the Yankees’ fourth outfielder is now Max Schuemann or Amed Rosario, with Caballero also having played there in the past.
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Yovanny Cruz, who pitched a second straight night Thursday after not pitching back-to-back days at all with Triple-A prior to his call-up, was also optioned back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the game to make room on the roster for Gerrit Cole’s debut Friday.
Cruz was less effective Thursday, giving up a double and hitting a batter in one-third of an inning.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
