Anthony Volpe looks forward to beginning his rehab assignment with the Yankees.

Anthony Volpe Nears Rehab Assignment

PETERSBURG, Fla.—Anthony Volpe is gearing up to start his rehab assignment, but he’s feeling less like a player in recovery than ever.

After being sidelined for six months following shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, Volpe is eager to hit the ground running. He may even begin his rehab at Double-A Somerset as soon as Tuesday.

“Honestly, I think this is the most excited I’ve ever been,” the shortstop expressed Sunday at Tropicana Field. “With the perspective of being out, it really doesn’t matter where I play or what I do—I’m just ready.”

Volpe has been focusing on his rehab in Tampa since the season kicked off. Over the past week and a half, he has taken live at-bats in simulated games. He’s scheduled for a check-up with team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad on Monday. If all goes well, he could kick off a rehab stint lasting up to 20 days.

Even though he dedicated much of his offseason to shoulder rehabilitation, Volpe feels he’s got a “clean slate” to evaluate his swing and discover ways to improve. His stats over the past three seasons in the majors show OPS figures of .666, .657, and .663, which perhaps could use a boost.

“You need to clear the path for the bats and keep them in the plane longer,” he noted. “Some of the work we’ve done has had its challenges, but we believe it’s very objective, and adjustments can follow.”

Meanwhile, Cam Schrittler faced a challenging outing, with a career-high of 21 swings and misses, and he conceded three runs on seven hits—including his first walk of the season—over five innings.

“I just threw the wrong pitch,” Schrittler admitted. “It’s a bit embarrassing, honestly. We need to do better.”

In a noteworthy move, Giancarlo Stanton sat out his second game of the season on Sunday, prompting Aaron Judge to take the designated hitter role. This required manager Aaron Boone to place Randal Grichuk in right field, facing an uphill battle against Drew Rasmussen, especially as Grichuk started the day 0-for-10.

Stanton later came in to pinch hit for Grichuk in the seventh inning, grounding out but bringing in an RBI to make it a 3-2 game. Instead of keeping Stanton on the field, Boone opted to have Amed Rosario play right for the first time this season.

Before the game, Boone had mentioned that Rosario would provide support off the bench and may start when necessary.

Prior to Stanton’s involvement, Grichuk was hitless at two at-bats, including a close call when second baseman Richie Palacios made a diving stop on a scorching ground ball.

This challenging week for the Yankees, which included the implementation of an automatic ball-strike system, continued into Sunday. Ben Rice, facing a full count, was called out on strike three. He briefly touched his helmet in disbelief, only to be reprimanded by home plate umpire Dan Bellino when he attempted to voice his discontent.