Anthony Volpe is expected to rejoin the Yankees either Wednesday or Thursday, with multiple reports saying the shortstop’s return is close while New York keeps rolling through one of its best stretches of the season. The Yankees had won eight straight MLB games and were 18-9 going into the series finale against the Houston Astros on Sunday afternoon, leaving little room for a slow ramp back when Volpe arrives.
Volpe is currently on a minor league assignment with New York’s Triple-A affiliate, a temporary stop that comes after a difficult stretch and a lingering injury history. He tore his labrum last season, then hit.212 in 2025 with 19 home runs, 72 RBI and 114 hits, while striking out 150 times. That was not an outlier for him. In all three of his MLB seasons, Volpe has struck out 150 or more times, which is part of why his place on the roster has been debated so heavily.
The Yankees still have work to do before Volpe is back in the clubhouse. After the Astros series, they are set to face the Texas Rangers in a three-game set from Monday to Wednesday, then move on to the Baltimore Orioles. That stretch matters because the club’s current winning streak could complicate the lineup decision when Volpe returns, especially with the roster already performing well enough to make any change feel more like a choice than a necessity.
Volpe has also been a point of friction among Yankees fans, with some not fully convinced he is the future at shortstop. That view has only sharpened the pressure around his return, since the team has been winning without him and the next few games may make it harder to force him right back into an everyday role. The clearest question now is not whether Volpe is coming back, but how the Yankees fit him in without disrupting a team that is already handling its business.
