Anthony Volpes slump has Yankees in a leadoff quagmire

Anthony Volpe entered play mired in a deep slump that had turned his breakout season into what statistically had been a middling one.He also entered play Wednesday in a lineup spot that has become customary, but his hold on batting leadoff appears to be slipping.Manager Aaron Boone acknowledged before the Yankees played the Reds in The Bronx that the No.1 spot in the lineup is a “fluid situation.” Volpe has owned that slot since a quick first few weeks of the season helped him claim leadoff beginning on April 10.The righty-hitting Volpe, who entered play in an 0-for-14 funk, was atop the lineup against opposing southpaw Andrew Abbott.

Boone relied heavily on his righty hitters, batting J.D.Davis cleanup and inserting Jahmai Jones at designated hitter while sitting lefty-swinging Ben Rice.The lineup for Thursday’s matinee against righty Frankie Montas will be much different — and may not include a leadoff-hitting Volpe, whose hot start has given way to a prolonged cold streak that has been heightened by the brilliance of the two hitters batting behind him.Boone wants his leadoff hitter — who sets the table for two superstars in Juan Soto (.435 OBP) and Aaron Judge (.440 OBP), who entered action as the best on-base machines in baseball — to reach often so he can be driven in.In his first 75 games atop the order, Volpe hit just .242 with a .294 OBP with four home runs.“Hopefully he’s at the end of a little downturn of a week or 10 days,” Boone said of Volpe, who entered play leading the majors in plate appearances.

“Hopefully we look up in two weeks and he’s hot, and those numbers change.That’s kind of the ebb and flow of the season.“Still a very young player, figuring out who he is as a hitter.

… But it’s something I’m paying attention to, and we’ll see.”If not Volpe, who? In a struggling Yankees lineup, Boone does not like the idea of bumping up Soto to leadoff and hitting Judge second.It is possible Rice, who has shown a good ...