Aaron Boone's Anthony Volpe decision overlooked during Yankees-Gleyber Torres drama

On Friday night, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone benched Gleyber Torres in the third inning for the second baseman's baserunning blunder that featured admiring a line drive off the wall and then getting thrown out at the plate in the next sequence.

Torres getting yanked from the game represented a landmark moment for Boone, who has drawn the ire of fans for his perceived unwillingness to discipline his players. Whether it be lapses in fundamentals (the most punishable offense) or prolonged slumps that legitimately altered the team's path (definitely subject to some action), many understandably felt Boone's decision making and instincts were a big reason for the team's 11-24 slide.

Right or wrong, Boone has at least helped alleviate that tension. His uncharacteristic call on Torres will hopefully keep the momentum moving in the right direction, but the hoopla of that incident has overshadowed one of Boone's strategic managerial decisions that has saved the Yankees recently.

About a month ago, Anthony Volpe was removed from the leadoff spot in the lineup. He had spent 76 straight games in that role before Boone finally felt implored to make a change. It's since mostly been shared by Alex Verdugo and Ben Rice.

But the bigger impact has been Volpe not in the leadoff spot. His production has been a complete 180 because he's swapped unplayable offense for an all-around, five-tool showcasing.

Aaron Boone's Anthony Volpe decision overlooked during Yankees-Gleyber Torres drama

It's taken time for everybody to fully notice, but the cat is now out of the bag with Volpe's current streak. He's back to where he was through his first 60 games of the season, when he was generating runs and acting as the spark plug for this offense.

Volpe held the leadoff role from April 19 until July 3. For the final five weeks of his run atop the lineup, the Yankees had only gotten more production from that spot than the Royals and A's. A change needed to be made, and perhaps we had gotten frustrated too quickly with Boone's prolonged decision. After all, Volpe had also been really good for the month prior.

But with the manner in which the play became untenable, Yankees fans got loud. Heck, we were pretty disillusioned by it all, too, going as far to say Volpe could no longer be trusted as an everyday player for the next four and a half years. And that could still be true. We don't know. But we're moving in a positive direction.

In the end, Boone took it as far as it could go. It was frustrating, but Volpe did need a bit more runway to figure it out, even if last year was underwhelming, too. Now, the Yankees might know what they're working with. They could indeed have a very good shortstop capable of being an offensive force in a supporting act role next to Aaron Judge and Juan Soto (or another Tier A player).

Volpe is a lineup-lengthening spark plug who can offer Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop (we just hope the routine mistakes that pop up every so often continue to dissipate). And that's valuable. He's just most likely not a leadoff hitter.

It's a lot to take over two of the most important jobs in New York. "Starting shortstop" is the more pressing need, at the moment. "Leadoff hitter" can come later. Or maybe not. The Yankees can just solve it using a committee ... or by exercising their financial capabilities in the offseason.