BALTIMORE — A middle finger has presented Anthony Volpe with a lifeline back to the big leagues — at least a temporary one.

Just over a week after the shortstop was optioned to Triple-A following the conclusion of his rehab assignment, with José Caballero playing too well to give up the starting job, the Yankees called up Volpe on Tuesday as Caballero landed on the injured list with a small fracture in his right middle finger.

The Yankees are hoping Caballero will only need the minimum 10 days on the IL — he fought going on it at all after seeing a hand specialist and getting tests back in New York on Tuesday morning — and Aaron Boone said he expects once Caballero returns, he will resume being the club’s starting shortstop.

Anthony Volpe playing for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, during a game against the Worcester Red Sox. Arthur Mansavage for NY Post

“He’s played as well as anyone out there,” Boone said Tuesday at Camden Yards. “That would be my expectation.”

So while Volpe may not be able to reclaim the starting job, after he had lost it while recovering from left shoulder surgery, the plan is for him to at least be playing shortstop “pretty much” every day while Caballero is out, Boone said. In doing so, he will have a chance to remind the Yankees what he is capable of after a long road back to the big leagues.

“Go play. Go help us win,” Boone said of his message to Volpe, who was not expected to arrive until first pitch Tuesday, so Max Schuemann got another start at shortstop. “You don’t have to give much messaging to Anthony. Anthony’s tough physically, tough mentally and he knows what he’s up here to do. He’s all about our team mission of, we want to win it all and be the best we can be. He knows he has a chance to be a big part of that.”

The 25-year-old Volpe spent the past three years as the everyday shortstop, with the Yankees letting him play through his struggles — mostly offensively, though he went through a rough stretch defensively last summer — in part because they lacked a legitimate option to replace him. But in Caballero, they have found one as his 1.7 bWAR was the fourth-highest mark on the team as of Tuesday.

Yankees’ José Caballero, left, is caught by Baltimore Orioles second baseman Blaze Alexander, right, while trying to steal second base. AP

Volpe, meanwhile, had not gotten off to a hot start at Triple-A after being optioned there last week. In five games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he hit 4-for-24 (.167) with a .472 OPS. But Boone said the New York native was the “right choice at this time,” as opposed to a utility player like Oswaldo Cabrera, who has hit better of late after a slow start.

“Still kind of getting it going a little bit,” Boone said of Volpe. “Hasn’t gotten a lot of results yet. He’s had a number of at-bats and a lot of reps now, a lot of playing time, more than a full spring training, so hopefully ready to go and come up here and be a spark for us.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr., who grew close with Volpe as double-play partners last season, said he has told the shortstop he is “built for this,” meaning fighting back from adversity.

“He’s pretty much a tough kid,” Chisholm said. “He played a whole season injured, sticking his butt out there for the team. He could have easily sat down a whole year last year and gotten his shoulder right. But he went out there and stuck it out for us and we made the playoffs. He was the starting shortstop last year of a playoff team — the last two years.”

Caballero, meanwhile, will likely be down for a few days to let the finger heal before starting to ramp back up.

“He’s a gamer, man, he really is,” Boone said. “Last year he was playing through a finger issue on the other hand that he was able to play through. He’s played through stuff already this season. So he’s one of those guys in the room that is really tough and can play with stuff. He wanted to try to do it here after a few days, but felt like we had to do what’s best for him here in this spot.”