And Anthony Volpe is back. Just when the fans were hoping to see more of Jose Caballero on the field, it proved to be just a 4-game hiatus for Volpe. Caballero has really taken advantage of his shot at shortstop, starting five games in a row, and is going 6-for-18 (.333). This includes launching a 423-foot homer at Fenway on Sunday night. And by Monday, Caballero had already posted 1.1 bWAR in just 31 games with New York, which is the same total Volpe has in 141 games. But for Boone, Volpe still makes more sense.

Result? Volpe is back in the Yankees’ lineup Tuesday for the first time in a week. After missing four games while dealing with a cortisone shot in his left shoulder, he finally returned against the Twins, looking to show he can still make a difference down the stretch and into October. But why? Boone gave the reason for promoting Volpe over Caballero.

“[Volpe’s] ready to go. And also, Caballero is not a guy that plays every single day, and I want to be mindful of that. He’s a little beat up, too. Want to get Anthony back into the mix here and hopefully he gives us some spark today.” MLB insider Max Goodman cites Boone as the reason to drop Caballero.

It seems like Boone is expecting a similar surge from Volpe that he showed during his first cortisone shot at the All-Star break. Yes, while Volpe was hitting .145 in his last 32 games entering Tuesday, he was hitting .280 with a 1.035 OPS in the first 14 games after his first cortisone shot during the All-Star break. Hence, if Boone could fetch something similar from Volpe, the Yankees could receive a huge boost in the postseason.

However, stripping out Caballero, who’s in a hot stretch, for a potential long-lost spark from Volpe? That’s surely an eye-raising decision by Aaron Boone.

Aaron Boone just got a reliable Volpe alternative

One of the major reasons behind the Yankees’ constant push for Volpe all season was a lack of proper alternatives at shortstop. Now, with Caballero in place, Anthony Volpe got competition.

Notably, since joining the Yankees at the trade deadline on July 31, Caballero has put together a solid .262/.352/.475 slash line over 72 plate appearances. In that same span, Volpe has struggled, hitting just .174/.207/.330 across 132 plate appearances. Hence, exactly what the Yankees would have hoped for. However, Boone is yet to fix his place in the lineup with Volpe again back in the lineup, and Caballero is benched.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what I do. It’s what the team does. As long as we keep winning games, I’m going to be really happy. I’m going to do my best to try to help the team win.” Caballero is showing sportsman’s spirit. And he knows his hot streak would make way for his permanent position on the team. And then there’s the fans continuously rallying behind him over Volpe.

Well, right now, it feels pretty clear that Caballero gives the Yankees the better shot in a one-game playoff. But there’s a bigger context to consider that Volpe is a former first-round pick and has held down the starting shortstop job for the past three seasons. Hence, going by what Boone is considering, Anthony Volpe might be at an advantage to lead in the postseason.