For a team that stormed into the 2025 season with expectations of dominance, the Yankees have found an unexpected nemesis in their divisional foes, the Blue Jays. Just weeks ago, the Yankees were swept clean in a three-game set by Toronto. And the troubling trend is set to continue with the loss of the first game on Monday night in the ongoing series. But there’s a shimmer of hope with the Yankees’ 5-4 win in the second game, though.
Historically, the Yankees have had the upper hand in this rivalry, but cracks have been showing. Back in 2022, they suffered one of their rougher seasons against Toronto with an 11-8 split, their worst in recent memory. But that pales in comparison to what’s unfolding in 2025, where they’ve just registered the first win today, that too after struggling with defensive errors.
Now, with the Yankees stumbling and the Blue Jays surging, the blame game begins. And guess what, it’s landing squarely on shortstop Anthony Volpe. After a costly throwing error in the opener that helped tip the game in Toronto’s favor, Volpe committed yet another miscue in the ongoing second game. And that error might have motivated the Blue Jays to take a jibe at the battered shortstop.
“You knew this was coming, right?” What was coming? Myles Straw’s comeback? Or Volpe’s error?
You knew this was coming, right? pic.twitter.com/mtvvfTmyCa
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 23, 2025
Well, Tuesday night witnessed the Yankees putting up a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning. It was looking like they were ready to bounce back big and set up a match with a dominant win. But things started to unravel when the Blue Jays mounted a comeback, sparked by yet another costly mistake from Volpe. He botched a routine play in the sixth, skipping a throw to Ben Rice that allowed Myles Straw to reach safely.
Davis Schneider followed up with a double to bring Straw home, and George Springer knocked in Schneider with an RBI single.
Now, those runs should never have scored if Volpe had made the play. That miscue ended up helping the Jays tie things up at 4-4 by the sixth. This is coming after Volpe’s similar miscue from yesterday when his errant throw resulted in the Yankees conceding one of four runs in the fifth inning.
The Blue Jays were sneaky enough to comment about Schneider hitting a double after Volpe’s misplay. Now, the judgment is on you… Is it that the Blue Jays expected the comeback after getting a lifeline? Or, is it that Volpe’s fielding error was inevitable, and we knew this was coming?
Nevertheless, the Yankees got the win, but Volpe’s defensive issues are no longer avoidable. Even the man himself acknowledged the miscue.
The Yankees’ shortstop is aware of his misplays
Anthony Volpe is aware of what’s going wrong.
“I rushed the throw and pulled it,” Volpe shared after his error in the first game yesterday. “Gave Goldie a tough pick to handle.” But while he acknowledged his error, the same was repeated in the second game.
And with that, Volpe leads all position players with 13 errors on the season.
Volpe and defensive errors go hand-in-hand. Just last year, he took home the AL Gold Glove as a rookie, despite committing 17 errors. Offensively, too, he hasn’t offered much. His OPS has barely budged over his three seasons: .666, .657, and .680. However, what’s more surprising is that manager Aaron Boone is still sticking by him. Reason?
The current Yankee lineup doesn’t really have anyone around to challenge Volpe for playing time right now. With Oswaldo Cabrera sidelined for the entire season and DJ LeMahieu recently designated for assignment, the team had no one other than Oswald Peraza to lead the third base. Furthermore, Jazz Chisholm is also back at his staple second base. And with all these, Volpe seems safe at shortstop until the Yankees can make a move at the trade deadline.
It was just Ben Rice and Giancarlo Stanton’s heroics that saved the day for the Yankees. Otherwise, Volpe would have faced a higher heat for his consecutive misplays.
Let’s now see what Boone’s strategy is with Volpe, with the trade deadline looming near.
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