A Yankees mailbag tackled two pressure points: whether Mason Miller can realistically be pried from the Padres, and why Anthony Volpe can’t be simply sent to Triple-A and repositioned without risking even more instability.
Good afternoon, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag—where the questions keep landing on the same sore spots: the Yankees’ bullpen urgency, and Anthony Volpe’s inability to stabilize the infield.
One listener asked if New York can pry Mason Miller away from the Padres—and the answer was blunt. Realistically, no.
Miller has value that doesn’t just show up on scouting reports anymore; it’s showing up in the way he’s pitching. The Athletics have already taken one of the best prospects in baseball—Leo De Vries. who is currently sitting at No. 2 overall on MLB Pipeline—plus the Padres’ No. 3 prospect in Braden Nett and some additional organizational prospects rated 13th and 17th, in exchange for Miller’s services. Even with one less year of control now. the argument is that his value is even higher because he’s in Cy Young discussions as a reliever. Whether he actually wins is framed as a separate question. but the performance being cited is hard to ignore: a strikeout rate north of 50 percent. no long balls surrendered. and an ERA below 1.00 this far into the season. with three years of control still in hand.
The price, then, isn’t just high—it’s likely to be stubborn. The Yankees’ “best offer” would reportedly require them parting with George Lombard Jr. almost assuredly. along with one of their top pitching prospects in either Elmer Rodriguez or Carlos Lagrange. and then some. That’s before you even get to the possibility of a bidding battle. which is acknowledged as very real. or the possibility that the Padres don’t intend to flip Miller in the first place.
San Diego’s season has been called a disappointment, largely because its lineup’s stars have struggled. But the team is still sitting in the final Wild Card spot. With the NL described as incredibly bloated outside of the division leaders. the Padres could choose either direction—yet that only strengthens the incentive to drive up the price if other contenders aren’t willing to budge. For the Yankees. the need is real. but the demand is not simple: they need bullpen help. yes. but they also need multiple pieces and more support at the bottom of their lineup. They can’t afford to spend all of their resources chasing one backend upgrade. even if putting Miller in pinstripes is the kind of idea that makes any bullpen-starved fan lean forward.
Then came the question about Volpe—why not send him down to Triple-A and play him at second base, instead of forcing him to keep struggling as the everyday answer at shortstop.
The “Anthony Volpe saga continues,” with the description setting the tone: much to everyone’s chagrin. After returning from the minors. Volpe had a hot week at the plate. and manager Aaron Boone reportedly responded by putting faith in him to deliver consistent starts again. The next part was the inevitable drop-off. Volpe went on an ice-cold streak. and the team is stretched thin enough to keep him on the roster until Jasson Domínguez returns.
Domínguez’s return is paired with another roster pressure point: Giancarlo Stanton is not far behind him. all but guaranteeing the roster crunch will come down shortly afterward. And while José Caballero has come back down to earth a bit. the case being made is that he’s still the better option at shortstop than Volpe—an assessment the team is said to have made when Volpe was set to return from the IL.
What about the future in the infield? The suggestion here isn’t that Volpe should disappear—it’s that seeing whether he can play at second base would help, because the author can’t see Volpe getting the lion’s share of starts at shortstop beyond this stretch.
There’s still a preference for keeping Jazz Chisholm Jr., but the mailbag frames that as uncertain. The plan assumes Chisholm’s asking price winds up being too expensive or the team simply can’t come to an agreement. Under that assumption, it would help to have backup options in house.
But there’s also a hard truth running through the question. The author doesn’t know how much trust can be placed in Volpe. “regardless of his position. ” if his bat never materializes. The only mitigation offered is the one thing that doesn’t punish the rest of the lineup: working on it in the minors without costing the team.
The final question shifted away from roster logistics to injury risk: considering the injuries to Judge and Dominguez, why don’t MLB outfielders wear NFL-style padding?
The response starts with the kind of fix that sounds obvious until you price it in. Changing MLB uniform and equipment rules would be required. But even if that hurdle is ignored for the sake of discussion—if outfielders are allowed to suit up in pads—the cost becomes sprint speed. covering the gaps. and tracking down long flies versus the safety that pads would offer in collisions.
In the argument laid out, the former is a daily necessity, while the latter is rare. Collisions might still happen. but they’re treated as the kind of event that can go wrong if it happens badly—meaning teams and players would have to decide whether an everyday athletic trade-off is worth an occasional safety gain.
Heat is another constraint added to the equation. A majority of MLB’s regular season comes during the summer. and peak temperatures could exhaust players in a single inning if they’re lugging heavy gear. The concern is described as particularly relevant to the Yankees right now. tied to Aaron Judge’s last two injuries and Domínguez’s stint on the IL.
The conclusion is practical rather than dramatic: there isn’t much to do beyond perhaps preaching more caution to their superstar captain.
Between the Padres’ demand for a real prospect haul to move Miller and the Yankees’ internal need to decide what to do with Volpe as the season tightens toward Domínguez’s return. the mailbag leaves a clear message—every option has a cost. and the Yankees can’t afford to pay for the wrong one at the wrong time.
New York Yankees Mason Miller San Diego Padres Anthony Volpe Aaron Boone Jasson Domínguez bullpen Jazz Chisholm Jr. George Lombard Jr. Leo De Vries Braden Nett