Anthony Volpe’s struggles are dominating the discourse around the New York Yankees in September.

The 24-year-old Volpe, who was once regarded as one of the top shortstop prospects in all of baseball, is fighting just to keep his spot in the Yankees’ starting lineup these days. He’s one of the worst qualified hitters in Major League Baseball this season, posting a career-worst 81 wRC+.

As he sat out Wednesday’s 11-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers, Volpe also reportedly received treatment on an injury that has lingered for a somewhat alarmingly long time.

On Thursday, New York Post insider Joel Sherman reported that Volpe received a cortisone shot in his non-throwing shoulder on Wednesday, stemming from an issue that originally popped up over four months ago.

“Volpe felt a ‘pop’ in his left shoulder diving for a ball May 3 against the Rays, and while the Yankees reported no structural damage at the time, there has been discomfort on occasion in the area since,” Sherman wrote.

“Through May 3, Volpe had a slash line of .233/.326/.442. It is .197/.248/.378 since and his struggles only have worsened over the last month. In his last 21 games, Volpe has hit .125 with 29 strikeouts in 72 at-bats.”

Jose Caballero, who went 1-for-3 with a strikeout in Volpe’s place on Wednesday, has a .758 OPS since coming to New York in a July 31 trade. Volpe’s OPS sits at .661 on the season.

There are many potential ramifications of the injury, including how serious the pain is now (a cortisone shot suggests it’s no small matter), whether it will affect Volpe’s playing time in the playoffs, and whether the Yankees will use the injury as an free pass and give the third-year veteran another shot to start next year.

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