Anthony Volpes time in field dipping with Jose Caballero separating, George Lombard Jr. looming for Yankees

Hitters at the bottom of the roster typically take at-bats in pregame sim games, essentially serving as pawns against rehabbing pitchers several hours before the start of real games.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.

So it felt notable that Anthony Volpe (along with Ali Sánchez) stepped into the box against Clarke Schmidt on Saturday afternoon in The Bronx.Before the game scheduled for Saturday night was postponed by rain, Volpe was set to be out of the lineup for a second straight game.Presuming a nod in one end of Sunday’s doubleheader, he likely will start in one game of this series; just as he started in one game of the previous series in Washington; just as he started in one game in the series at Tampa Bay that preceded Washington.There are a pair of Shortstop Watches going on, both with George Lombard Jr.

and the Yankees’ trade deadline.But at the moment, José Caballero is separating himself as the shortstop receiving the bulk of playing time.Manager Aaron Boone still called it a “day-to-day” situation, but there is no denying that Caballero is winning the battle most of the days.During Friday’s series-opening loss to the Dodgers, Caballero went 0-for-4 but still contributed a pair of head-turning plays.

He robbed a hit from Kyle Tucker by ranging up the middle, gloving the ball with a lunging stab and finishing the play with a spin and throw.Later, he made a nice basket catch in shallow center field with his back to home plate to take away a bloop single from Dalton Rushing.His defense at shortstop has been solid, and his arm is better than Volpe’s.

Neither has hit enough to firmly seize the job, but Caballero (.688 OPS) has been the slightly better option than Volpe (.668).That’s particularly true of late, with Volpe slashing .222/.276/.222 in his past 10 games — perhaps a reflection of a hitter’s numbers suffering amid sporadic...