Michael Kay casts doubt on Anthony Volpe allegation that could fuel Yankees trade

Imagine you are Spencer Jones. You have often been counted out as a big-league option by the expert class, but you are trying. You know your whiffs will always be a fatal flaw, but you also know you have within you the potential for a scorched-earth, three-week heater that could be the difference between a Yankees division crown and disappointment. You've already been called up once and it didn't go well, but your .808 OPS in your June stint with the club has come much closer to approximating what you believe you can do.

On July 4, you're sent down to the minors again. The decision comes in part because Carlos Rodón is injured and the Yankees need a spot starter. According to the latest rumors brought up by Michael Kay, which have recently been posited by Joel Sherman as well — another factor was at play. Kay dedicated time on his show to the idea that Anthony Volpe, when assigned to the minors, was unwilling to change positions or experiment. He won't move to second base, even temporarily. And so he stays. He's a "shortstop". And you're out of the big leagues.

How do you feel? How do you deal with that? One man has endless runway because he refuses to help? And you get the short end because of it? Most men would want out.

There's been plenty of sympathy for Volpe these past few years, whose career felt like a story too promising not to work. There's also been plenty of vociferous arguing lately that Volpe is not the real problem with the Yankees, and his 88 OPS+ and solid defense have been scorned too heartily for what he's provided.

But chemistry matters. And if what Kay and Sherman are saying is true — that Volpe has been asked to move and has bristled, going against the team's wishes — then he's certainly more of a problem than staunch defenders of his defensive metrics would like you to believe.

Of course, Kay resurfaced on Wednesday after the fire had already begun burning to push back on the Sherman allegations that he'd corroborated the day prior.

Choose what you believe.

Could Anthony Volpe trade follow latest allegations of stubbornness with Yankees?

The Yankees have been loyal to Volpe to a fault in recent years, but even an organization that's in love with a player probably won't contend with him much longer if he refuses to put down his shortstop glove. George Lombard Jr. is on the horizon, gaining quickly in the rearview. If not this September, it'll be next season. Playing him out of position to accommodate Volpe's below-average ... everything isn't something that even the Yankees would stoop to (we don't think).

What's the trade market value of an above-average shortstop with a below-average bat whose swing changes as the wind blows? Not sure. There's certainly a chance his speed and aggression return when he lands in a new home without the heavy tax of the pinstripes. Either way, after back-to-back benchings to start the Rays series, it seems like we'll find out where his restorative next chapter will be sooner rather than later.

Now, does that solve the Yankees' shortstop issues? No! Jose Caballero is still a utility man. Lombard Jr. is still injured and a child. But if you thought this summer would be Volpe's last stand and Jones' ticket out of the organization, I'd posit the former has more of a chance of departing than the latter.

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