TAMPA, FL FEBRUARY 16: New York Yankees Infielder Anthony Volpe listens to instructions during the spring training workout on February 16, 202at George Field in Tampa, by Cliff WelchIcon Sportswire via Icon Sportswire via Madison Pavich is a staff editor for Pinstripe Alley, where she got her start as a writer in 2017 before joining the editorial team in Post Greg Joyce: Anthony Volpe has reunited with the Yankees as they arrived in Tampa to play the Rays this weekend, the injured shortstop having taken an extended stay at the team's complex while rehabbing from offseason surgery on his time for a rehab assignment is nearing, and could come as early as Tuesday after meeting with the team physician for a final checkup, but once he's fully ready to go what will his role with the team be? General manager Brian Cashman gave the strongest indication that he'll be back as the starting shortstop that we've heard since the offseason, confirming that's always been the plan when reporters did leave a caveat that ultimately that'll be the manager's call on starting Volpe, but there's little doubt that the GM and manager will be in lockstep on Caballero had a chance to make this a more debatable choice with the starting gig wide open for the first month of the season Derek Jeter Jersey, but his bat has been ice cold to start the year.A.135.200.162 tripleslash isn't inspiring any confidence, and the team was already inclined to go back to Volpe once healthy after assessing the team in the how dreadful the bottom of the lineup has performed, an early season performer like Volpe could win a lot of favor back in his court by jumping back in with some timely Bob Klapisch $: We've seen high highs and low lows with this 202team already, jumping out to a 71 start that was tops in the league with electric pitching just to watch as the bats have gone missing and been unable to support the staff amidst a 14 skid that's mainly been punctuated by three consecutive 's early, yes, so the answer of what this Yankees team is likely falls somewhere between those two results, but some very real flaws have been exposed as stats begin to Ronald Blum: The average salary of an MLB player rose for another year after Opening Day payrolls were made official, seeing a 3.4 percent jump from 2025 to a record $5.34 , the growth of the game's majorleague side of the financials has been on a steady climb following the pandemic Brett Gardner Jersey, recovering from a slow decline in the late 2010s, but the underlying concern is that the extreme spenders and thrifters have both gotten stronger: six teams paid out over $250 million this year instead of four last year, while eight teams spent under $100 million as opposed to five in median salary also grew slightly, up to $1.4 million from $1.35 million, but it still hasn't come close to the median record set back in a lockout all but assumed to be arriving after this season concludes Michael Arias Jersey, these numbers paint a picture of the opening lines that the union and owners will set their trenches against, so it's worth familiarizing yourself with them Trade Rumors Charlie Wright: Former Yankee Mike Ford is taking on a front office role with the Tampa Bay Rays, which would all but confirm that the first baseman is electing to retire from the game after spending last season abroad in had a sensational stint with the Yankees in 2019 filling in for an injured Edwin Encarnacion, hitting for a.909 OPS in 50 games, but his subsequent 2020 season didn't fare nearly as well and he played only a minor role in that year as well as in 2021, leading to a trade that sent him to he'll get the chance to work with the Rays' minor leaguers in a stillundefined retirement, Mike.