After years of underperforming, the New York Yankees finally decided to send Anthony Volpe down in favor of a new shortstop.
In the past, Volpe had been given preference as the starter, but it could have been argued that the Yankees did not have a better option. However, with George Lombard Jr. ready, the Yankees sent Volpe down. Volpe has played in five Triple-A games since being sent down and made a brutal mistake on Wednesday night.
Volpe burned through both of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's challenges just six pitches into the game. Both pitches were upheld as strikes.
Anthony Volpe lost both challenges tonight in the first six pitches of the game.
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) August 13, 2026
"He's got a big smile on his face, I'm going to guess the other 27 guys on the team aren't real happy right now." pic.twitter.com/sj08rGwbDN
The first challenge came trying to get a 3-1 count flipped to a four-pitch walk. The second challenge came after Volpe struck out looking on a 3-2 count.
Volpe had not challenged a pitch since being sent down, and the clip of him burning two challenges has gone viral. Fans online are saying it gives off an entitled vibe, and that Volpe smiling on his way back to the dugout is not a good look.
Simply put, Volpe is not in Triple-A on a rehab assignment or anything. He is there because the Yankees feel like he's not good enough to be the shortstop, and he should be acting more professionally and working hard to improve.
Burning challenges that early in the game is not something that would fly in the big leagues, and certainly did not help the RailRiders on Wednesday night. They lost 11-3 to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
Volpe was 5-for-8 on challenges in the big leagues this season. He has not been terrible with it this year, but failing to understand the situation and challenging emotionally is not good. He was the first batter of the game, and neither of the pitches he challenged were clear enough to warrant that early a challenge.