For weeks, the expectation was for Oswald Peraza to win the New York Yankees‘ shortstop gig.
That might still be the case.
In fact, between him and Anthony Volpe, Peraza has mastered Triple-A and has major league experience.
Volpe is the more exciting prospect of the two and will probably have a better career, but as of now, Peraza seems like the most MLB-ready of the two.
Still, the possibility of Volpe sneaking onto the Yankees’ Opening Day roster and grabbing that shortstop job is still there.
The Yankees will be playing a doubleheader on Friday, and their lineup trends are pretty telling.
“Six days until Opening Day. Anthony Volpe is playing behind Gerrit Cole at home. Oswald Peraza is going on the road for the ‘B’ game at Sarasota,” Yankees insider Bryan Hoch tweeted.
Six days until Opening Day.
Anthony Volpe is playing behind Gerrit Cole at home. Oswald Peraza is going on the road for the 'B' game at Sarasota.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) March 24, 2023
He added the thinking emoji for good measure.
The fact that Volpe (.939 OPS in the spring) is playing with the starters and Peraza (.607) with the reserves could mean something, and could mean nothing.
We will find out in less than a week, as Opening Day will be on March 30.
Peraza’s defense is better and he can be a power-speed asset.
Judging him for spring stats shouldn’t be the way to go, when he had such a good season last year (20 homers and 35 steals between Triple-A and the Majors).
Volpe could also use some Triple-A seasoning, as he had a .718 OPS in a handful of games there last year.
He has been so good in exhibition games that he has the Yanks considering changing their plans.
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