New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Anthony Volpe’s rehab assignment will end today, and the Yankees will have to chose what to do with the former top prospect. He will either need to be activated and added to the MLB roster, or optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and begin his season for real in the minors. With José Caballero doing everything the Yankees could possibly ask of him, especially with his shortstop defense, some time in Scranton to ensure that Volpe can be a representative MLB player might not be the worst idea. Of course the counterpoint is what risk do you pose in hurting Volpe’s confidence, a player who has already struggled to live up to the expectations placed on him in his career?
NJ.com | Bob Klapisch: Much was made over the winter about the new Trajekt machines, batting practice aids that replicate the arm angle and movement of virtually any MLB pitcher. At least one Yankee has found success in a more low-tech environment though, with the aforementioned Caballero sinking his teeth into onfield batting practice. The shortstop has hit four home runs on the year, after five all of last season, and credits the confidence that watching the ball travel around the stadium during BP instills with the power surge. I’m not sure Cabby will ever be hitting in the top third of a lineup, but not having automatic outs at the bottom of the order has been a big part of the Yankees’ success early.
New York Post | Bridget Reilly: Yep, I’m gonna talk about Ben Rice again. The perceived vulnerability in the Yankee slugger was supposed to be left handed pitching — Paul Goldschmidt came back to the Bronx on a $4 million insurance policy as a partial hedge against that weakness. Instead, Rice is the second-best hitter in all of baseball against lefties, with a sterling 1.308 OPS facing southpaws in the first six weeks of the season. The Yankees lost Juan Soto and then effectively made Juan Soto out of a 27-year-old Dartmouth alum, one of the more stunning player development successes in recent years. A platoon hitter no more!
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