Fresh off a Trade Deadline that saw the Yankees fail to add a catcher or increase their bullpen depth, fans at Yankee Stadium were rewarded with a 13-7 loss that was somehow even more painful than the final score indicates. The Cardinals crushed young ace Cam Schlittler and ran up a 6-0 lead. The blowout was on, until a furious barrage of Yankees homers was capped by a two-run shot by trade addition Luis García Jr. to make it 7-6. One disastrous seven-run (!) eighth later, and, well there’s your
final score.
In short, the outlook wasn’t brilliant (to invoke “Casey at the Bat”) on Yankees news as the clock approached midnight on the East Coast. Then came a bolt of lightning from YES Network’s Jack Curry, bringing the news that a 21-year-old long discussed in fan circles would be debuting the next day: George Lombard Jr.
Does this make me feel better about the Yankees after a Monday like this one? I’d like to say that it does, but it only does so much. This loss really stunk and unless Lombard has secret two-way talents that he’s not disclosing, he’s not helping the bullpen. (Austin Wells at least had a nice game behind the plate, so that frustration was mildly assuaged.)
That being said, this is still the right move. This is the time for Lombard.
The Yankees’ top pick in the 2023 MLB Draft has zoomed through the system, getting the bump from Double-A Somerset to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre back at the end of April. Across 78 games in the minors this year, he’s hit .284/.411/.498 with 24 doubles, 12 homers, 13 stolen bases, and a 157 wRC+. Now those figures are different when only looking at Triple-A (.268/.405/.440, 126 wRC+), but Lombard really started raking once he got his feet wet in May. From the beginning of June onward, he’s hit a staggering .352/.470/.648 with a 183 wRC+ in 30 games. Although he missed time with a sprained finger, he did not take any breathers upon returning just after the All-Star break.
Lombard is also extremely deft at shortstop, and it wasn’t long after he was drafted that folks started calling him the best defensive shortstop in the system regardless of level. His glove has been big-league ready for some time; it’s just been a matter of the bat catching up. Now, it’s here.
As demonstrated by Lombard’s bumpy adjustment to the International League back in May, fans should not assume that he’s going to hit nearly as well in The Show as he did at Triple-A. The chasm of talent between Triple-A pitching and Major League Baseball has never been higher, and he’s had an understandable pattern of needing to figure things out. Patience is not a virtue that Yankees fans are known for, but they’re going to need to demonstrate some of that with Lombard. Honestly, as long as Lombard plays well on defense and adds a little righty boost to the lineup against southpaws, then the Yankees will be thrilled.
Now, what does mean for incumbent shortstops José Caballero and Anthony Volpe? Well for the former, he was a nice story when he was hot at the outset of 2026, but his position has always been utilityman extraordinaire. And when he’s not finding his way into the starting nine, he’s a former stolen base leader who is an easy pinch-running threat. Caballero might eke his way into the lineup here and there regardless due to the Yankees’ current injuries, but there will be less of a reliance on him.
As for Volpe, the ship has sailed. He was in Lombard’s shoes once, at the start of the 2023 season when he was named Opening Day shortstop and won the job in spring training from another highly-regarded shortstop prospect, Oswald Peraza. Volpe and Peraza are the warning flags here. There’s a very real chance that fans are never going to love Lombard as much as they do in this very moment. The onus will be on Lombard to be his person and ultimately fare better than Volpe and Peraza, who never corrected the serious flaws in their approach at the plate.
I do honestly feel pretty good about Lombard. And just because past recent stories of the six have disappointed, that obviously doesn’t mean you never try again. He can break the pattern. Even in the current flawed Yankees lineup, he doesn’t need to be the star as a rookie. New York is just looking for a solid defender who can get his share of hits here and there. If he can do that as a 21-year-old—he was born in June 2005, barely a month after Robinson Canó‘s MLB debut if you want a jump-scare—then that’s as good a way as any to begin!
Go get ’em, George. Welcome to The Show.
