Joe Maddon suggests drastic Anthony Volpe move for Yankees

If former MLB manager Joe Maddon were at the helm of the Yankees, the floundering Anthony Volpe would be heading back down to Triple-A. 

“I think there’s got to be some consideration, or thought, or talking about him possibly going back down,” Maddon said Thursday on MLB Network’s “MLB Now.”

“He’s going to be a very good player in the years to come, but in the meantime, his confidence, for me, is at an all-time low.”

Maddon said he thinks the Yankees should look to acquire a veteran shortstop at the upcoming trade deadline – “somebody that can catch the ball” – as a temporary measure to allow Volpe to regain his confidence in the minors. 

“Send him down, let him get straightened out a bit,” Maddon said. “He’s gonna come back very soon.”

Volpe, 24, is in the midst of a brutal stretch both at the plate and in the field.

He’s hitting just .214 this season with a .686 OPS and a .154 average in his last 30 games. He’s also among the MLB leaders in errors with 13.

Still, the Watchung, N.J., native is in his third season as the Yankees’ everyday shortstop, and a minor-league stint at this point would be drastic. 

When MLB Network host Brian Kenny questioned Maddon’s take on the situation, the former Rays, Cubs and Angels manager doubled down.

“[Francisco] Alvarez did it with the Mets, and he came back, and so far he’s been a different player,” Maddon said.

“[Alvarez] is a younger guy, though,” Kenny replied. “I’m a little stunned. You think it calls for that drastic action?”

“From what I’ve seen, I’m seeing him make a lot of mistakes he shouldn’t be making,” Maddon said. “Guy looks like he needs a reset mentally as much as anything for me. Slow the game down, get your fundamentals back together, breathe again, and in the meantime, just get somebody to catch the ball.”

Maddon, 71, won the World Series with the Angels in 2002 and with the Cubs in 2016, and is a three-time Manager of the Year (2008, 2011 and 2015). 

He added that he wouldn’t be worried about damaging Volpe’s ego by sending him down at this point in his big-league career. 

“I think we’re really sensitive,” Maddon said. “It’s just the sign of the times that we get overly sensitive about doing the right thing.”