Aaron Boone's Anthony Volpe reveal may finally stick a fork in Ryan McMahon before Yankees playoff run

With one six-foot-seven sized caveat, the biggest concern facing the New York Yankees as we prepare for October is third base. Ryan McMahon has proven to be too much of a liability at the plate to count on as he's sunk to a new low as the only player in the league (min. 350 plate appearances) to post a sub-.280 on-base percentage and a strikeout rate north of 29%.

Meanwhile, Amed Rosario's inability to do his one job, hit lefties, and porous glove make him an untenable alternative. It appeared as if the Yankees would just have to deal with a black hole in the lineup and/or a butcher in the field, but Aaron Boone's latest update might have a solution coming to the rescue in a strange way.

With Jazz Chisholm Jr. back in action, and apparently kissing fans, the skipper announced a new plan for Anthony Volpe: playing third base. Boone always uses qualifiers, so to be accurate, he said he'd "probably" send Volpe out the man the hot corner some time this week, so there's always a chance that the frustratingly opaque manager could change his mind. Still, it would be nice to have another option, and believe it or not, Volpe could be a decent one.

Anthony Volpe ironically could come full circle and become a Yankees savior with the proposed third base plan

There's some reason to be concerned about how Volpe can handle third base, especially due to questions about his arm. The greater fear is that if he struggles there, he'll bring those issues with him to the batter's box and scuffle on the offensive side of the ball as well.

However, the former can't-miss prospect got a decent amount of run at the hot corner during his last demotion to Scranton, and during the last month he was in Triple-A, he hit 10 homers and posted an eye-popping 1.023 OPS.

Since he's come back up, his bat hasn't been that hot, hitting .263/.300/.395. Still, that's an improvement over McMahon, and he's had a few big moments over the last few weeks, most notably his September 10 grand slam against the Colorado Rockies.

Getting him some big league reps at the position before the playoffs begin is a great way to test this out in a low-pressure environment now that New York has clinched home-field advantage against the Boston Red Sox for the upcoming AL Wild Card Series.

If it works, well, it sets up a world of possibilities. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but Volpe getting hot at a new position in the postseason could completely flip his career narrative. If he makes a positive impact, his confidence could soar, fueling more and more encouraging developments.

At the end of it all, he could prove to be a viable replacement for the struggling McMahon this offseason. That's huge because unless the Yankees pull off a blockbuster trade, the free agent market is barren at the hot corner. One step at a time, but this could serve as the jumping-off point for Volpe's rebirth, and we're 100% here for that.

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