José Caballero (jose caballero) returned from the injured list and started at shortstop on May 22, 2026, as the Yankees said Anthony Volpe will begin taking pregame drills at second base that day.
Caballero's return came after a minimal injured-list stay for a fracture in his right middle finger, and he was in the lineup against Nick Martinez in the opener of the weekend series with the Rays. Manager Aaron Boone said the club will not have Volpe taking any reps at third base and that he would make the shortstop decision every night.
The move arrives after Volpe was recalled to handle shortstop while Caballero was out: over the past week and a half Volpe appeared in eight games, collecting five hits, including two doubles, and seven walks in 30 plate appearances. That short stint gave the Yankees a temporary answer at the position while Caballero recovered.
Caballero returns with the team's top stolen-base total — he leads the Yankees with 13 steals — and a.259/.320/.400 line across 147 plate appearances. He had been the full-time shortstop earlier in the season while Volpe rehabs from last fall's shoulder surgery.
At second base, Jazz Chisholm Jr. remains the primary option. Chisholm started his 48th of 52 games at second base on May 22, and Amed Rosario has started the other four games to spell Chisholm against left-handed pitchers. Boone's decision to have Volpe take pregame work there is framed as adding versatility behind those options rather than an immediate position change.
That versatility has limits: Volpe has played more than 4,000 major-league innings, all at shortstop, and the Yankees explicitly said they do not intend to put him at third. The club also faces pressure to find stable production at third base; they have not gotten much from Ryan McMahon there this year, a reality that factors into where the team looks for defensive depth.
The friction for Boone is practical. Caballero is back and producing on the bases and at the plate, Volpe has proven he can step in for short periods, and Chisholm is entrenched at second. Yet Boone has left the final shortstop alignment open, saying the team will set the position each night, which keeps both the returner's rhythm and the recalled player's role in play.
What happens next is straightforward on paper and consequential in practice: Volpe will take second-base drills before games beginning May 22, Caballero will rejoin the shortstop rotation immediately, and Boone will pick the shortstop for each game. That nightly choice is likely to decide playing time and matchups more than any single positional announcement.
