Yankees to call up Anthony Volpe as Jazz Chisholm Jr. lands on IL with sprained thumb

The Yankees and their fans were more than eager about the idea of getting Aaron Judge back in the lineup, something that finally happened with great fanfare on Tuesday night after he had spent 99 days on the injured list with a cracked rib on his right side.

What about the idea of seeing Anthony Volpe back in the lineup? Would that be met with cheers or winces?

We will soon find out.

Second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. is going on the 10-day IL with a right thumb sprain and Volpe is being called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before Thursday’s game against Colorado, manager Aaron Boone said after the Yankees beat the Rockies, 6-1, Wednesday night at the Stadium. Volpe, once the club’s starting shortstop, is expected to play second base.

He will be playing across the keystone with new starting shortstop George Lombard Jr., who hit the Yankees’ first grand slam of the season for a 5-0 lead in the fourth inning of Wednesday’s win. Luis Garcia Jr. and Cody Bellinger hit solo home runs, Aaron Judge went 2-for-4 in his second game back and starter Will Warren (10-6) pitched six innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts.

Chisholm initially hurt his thumb in the eighth inning of Tuesday night’s win on a headfirst slide into second base trying to stretch a single into a double. He was replaced in the field in the ninth. An MRI exam Wednesday revealed the sprain. Boone said he can do no baseball activities for seven to 10 days and couldn’t commit to Chisholm returning before the end of the regular season.

Volpe was the focus of a lot of negative energy and criticism while he was underperforming as the Yankees’ shortstop earlier this season. When the Yankees demoted him to the minors in favor of top prospect Lombard, the switch was celebrated.

But since Volpe’s Aug. 3 demotion to Triple-A, the organization has re-imagined how to deploy their 2023 Gold Glove winner. He had played in 28 games since he went down, including 19 at his new position of second base. He was scratched from the starting lineup shortly before Scranton’s game at Rochester on Wednesday.

The Yankees have 17 games left and are four games back of Tampa Bay, which beat Atlanta, for the AL East division title and accompanying first-round playoff bye. They are four games up on Boston, which lost to the Angels, for the top AL wild card.

It’s the home stretch and they need to do whatever it takes to win — popular or not.

With Judge, the belief is that bringing him back cautiously is the best way to keep him playing and build him into top form. It’s why Boone lifted him after six innings Tuesday, and removed him for a pinch runner after his second single of the game Wednesday. He may give Judge Thursday off even though his timing at the plate is coming around quickly. The day off might assure he plays all three weekend games against the Mets.

“Good to see him throw a couple of knocks out there,” Boone said. “It’s all real valuable for him: just continuing see pitches, see different pitches, [getting] at-bats. I feel like his swing decisions have been pretty good so far. The more we do it it, the more comfortable he’ll get.”

With Volpe, the Yankees may see a player who has adapted to his future position and is currently on a hitting tear. Volpe has batted .333 with eight home runs — five in one five-game stretch — and a 1.218 OPS over his previous 17 games with Scranton.

Boone was asked if feels comfortable about the idea of Volpe playing second base for the Yankees and replied, “I do, yes.”

“I feel like he’s in a really good spot, obviously, been productive down there and playing really well,” Boone added. “He’s taken well to the other positions [including a few at third base] and so we’ll see.”

Asked if it could be awkward playing the infield with the guy he replaced, Lombard replied, “I wouldn’t say awkward. We’re all in the baseball world. We know what the baseball world is like. Kind of anything can happen.”

“This makes sense,” he said of the move. “[I’m] excited to finally work together.”

Even as Volpe struggled to a .240 average with one homer and 19 RBIs in 56 games with the Yankees, Boone praised his attitude and mentality and said they are serving him now.

“It’s not an easy thing to do when you’ve been you’ve been the guy in the big leagues and you’ve got to go back,” Boone said. “I’ve seen a lot of good players go there and not perform and struggle. I think is a testament to . . . the kind of player he is.”

The Yankees not playing Judge in every inning might not be a popular decision. Bringing back Volpe also might not be a popular decision. But “popular” won’t be a factor in what the organization does going forward. “It’s about trying to win,” Boone said. “[We'll] put the best guys out there that we think give us that opportunity.”

By Roger Rubin

roger.rubin@newsday.com@rogrubin

Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.