New York Yankees Announce Anthony Volpe Decision Before Elimination Game Against Rays

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 29: George Lombard Jr. #96 of the New York Yankees celebrates with Anthony Volpe #11 after a double play against the Boston Red Sox during the seventh inning in game one of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium on September 29, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images)

The New York Yankees are in do-or-die mode in the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays.

New York faces a 2-0 deficit, and if they want to advance to the ALCS, they will have to beat the Rays three consecutive times, which puts the Yankees against the odds at this juncture.

Before the critical Game Three against the Rays, the New York Yankees announced a handful of lineup changes, with Tampa Bay rolling out RHP Nick Martinez. New York is going with Max Fried on Wednesday evening, which perhaps gives the Yankees a slight edge, but Martinez has had a stellar season and is undoubtedly a tough pitcher to face for any lineup.

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Yankees’ Anthony Volpe Gets First ALDS Start

For the first time this ALDS, Anthony Volpe is in the lineup for the Yankees, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. is riding the bench.

@UnderdogMLB released the full Yankees batting order for the Game Three contest:

Yankees 10/7: “T. Grisham CF B. Rice DH L. García Jr. 1B C. Bellinger LF G. Lombard Jr. SS A. Wells C A. Volpe 2B S. Jones RF J. Caballero 3B M. Fried SP”

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Yankees 10/7

T. Grisham CF B. Rice DH L. García Jr. 1B C. Bellinger LF G. Lombard Jr. SS A. Wells C A. Volpe 2B S. Jones RF J. Caballero 3B

M. Fried SP

3:56 pm · 7 Oct 2026

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Anthony Volpe has not recorded an at-bat during this ALDS matchup.

Other lineup notes include Trent Grisham leading off, Cody Bellinger batting cleanup, Austin Wells getting the start behind the plate (and batting sixth), and Jose Caballero grabbing the start at shortstop against his old team.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. also not being in the batting order is a bit of a surprise.

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Why Are the Yankees Playing Anthony Volpe Today?

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is clearly trying to find a spark in the lineup, and perhaps inserting Anthony Volpe will help with that sentiment.

It’s a bold choice with the Rays’ Martinez pitching, who is a righty (Volpe has played mostly against left-handed starters), but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Across 70 games played in the regular season, Anthony Volpe batted .245 with two home runs, 12 doubles, and an OPS+ of 84.

The decision to bench Jazz Chisholm Jr. is a clear indicator that Boone doesn’t trust Chisholm’s recent plate appearances, and it somewhat makes sense because Jazz is 0-f0r-6 in the series.

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