The New York Yankees are being urged to finally move on from Anthony Volpe in a trade that would send the struggling shortstop to one of their top AL East rivals.
The destination makes the proposal by Pinstripes Nation especially provocative, however, because the Yankees would risk watching Volpe attempt to revive his career with a team they are now battling for the division.
The idea traces back to The Athletic‘s updated trade deadline board this week, which lists Tampa Bay among the best fits for Volpe. The link lands a year after the Rays sent Jose Caballero to the Bronx literally in the middle of a game between the two teams. Now, the player Caballero was acquired to back up is the one drawing trade speculation.
Volpe is hitting .245 with a .341 on-base percentage and a .322 slugging mark, with one home run and 14 RBIs in 47 games, according to a report from Pinstripes Nation analyst Inna Zeyger. He missed a chunk of the season’s early stretch with an injury, and the power behind his 21 rookie homers has not resurfaced.
Caballero took the shortstop job down the stretch and never fully gave it back. Prospect George Lombard Jr. is closing in on his own debut, and scouts describe Volpe as trending toward a bench role as Lombard’s timeline shortens. Tampa Bay prizes cost certainty above all else, and Volpe is controlled through 2028, making him the kind of buy-low asset the Rays have built their franchise around.
Kevin Kelly, Ian Seymour Fit Rays’ Likely Return
According to Zeyger, the Yankees would not expect top-level talent in exchange for Volpe. What the Bronx Bombers would seek are young, club-controlled Tampa Bay arms. Kevin Kelly fits that description. The right-hander, signed to a one-year, $925,000 deal that avoided arbitration, according to Spotrac’s contract database, has turned a low-arm-slot sinker into a steady bullpen weapon, with a career ERA in the low 3.00s. He’s controllable through 2029, ahead of free agency in 2030.
If not Kelly, Ian Seymour offers a different return. The left-hander, a 2020 second-round pick out of Virginia Tech, is 6-foot-0 with a 4.79 ERA and 79 strikeouts across 67.2 innings this season as a starter and in bulk relief. His strikeout rate sits near 10.5 per nine, and his near-zero service time would keep him under team control deep into the next decade.
Michael Forret Rounds Out Volpe Return Package
Any deal would likely need a third piece, and pitching prospect Michael Forret fits that mold. Forret arrived in Tampa Bay’s system through the December trade that sent Shane Baz to Baltimore, a package that also included Caden Bodine and three other pieces. He has climbed as high as a No. 8 ranking in the Rays’ farm system, per MLB Pipeline, and reached Triple-A Durham in June. Scouts praise a deep arsenal that touches 97 mph, projecting him as a potential back-end starter.
None of it moves the Yankees closer to what they actually want. New York has spent weeks being pushed toward a right-handed hitting catcher, not more pitching, though Tampa Bay’s rotation depth is currency that could fund it. The bigger stumbling block is the standings. The Yankees sit two games behind the Rays in the AL East, and division rivals rarely do each other favors in July.
But the deal would solve the ongoing Volpe problem, while netting the Yankees at least some mid-level talent under cost control for several years.
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