Alexander Wilson
The Yankees‘ shortstop conversation keeps finding new ways to get uncomfortable.
Anthony Volpe has already lost his iron-grip status on the job. Jose Caballero has done enough to make the coaching staff respect him as more than a utility option. Now George Lombard Jr. is sitting in Triple-A, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post has floated the idea that picturing Lombard as the team’s starting shortstop by August 1 is not out of the question.
For June, the idea sounds wild, but it does not feel completely insane anymore.
Lombard’s Triple-A line is strange, not empty
The surface average is ugly. Since being promoted to Triple-A, Lombard has slashed .206/.371/.298 over 131 at-bats, which tells two different stories at once.
The bat-to-ball production is not ready to carry a big-league job. The on-base skill, though, is real enough to keep the conversation alive. A .371 OBP while hitting barely over .200 means he is controlling the zone, taking his walks, and refusing to let the promotion swallow him whole.
That matters for a 21-year-old shortstop. Lombard does not have to look like a finished product right now. He has to look like a player who can survive the next challenge without the whole thing speeding up on him.
The Yankees may not need perfect offense at shortstop
The bar at shortstop is not superstar offense. It is playable offense with reliable defense, athleticism, and enough on-base value to keep the bottom of the lineup from turning into a hole.
Volpe has stabilized at times, but the bat still has not fully killed the debate. He is hitting .203/.319/.305 with an 84 wRC+, and the recent run makes the conversation louder, with Volpe going .125/.160/.125 over his last seven games and .203/.319/.305 over his last 30.
Caballero has been the better overall offensive piece, even if he has cooled a bit lately. He owns a .253/.311/.388 slash line with a 98 wRC+, plus 15 steals and enough defensive flexibility to help the roster in multiple places. His last seven games sit at .182/.280/.364, but the 30-game line of .244/.320/.389 still gives the Yankees a steadier recent sample than Volpe’s.
Those numbers are why Lombard’s name matters. Volpe is not producing enough to close the door, and Caballero’s value gets diluted if the Yankees need him bouncing around the field. Lombard gives the Yankees the one thing neither can offer right now: upside that could change the long-term picture.
He is already listed as the top prospect in the Yankees’ system, and the defensive fit is the reason this scenario even gets oxygen. If the Yankees believe the glove can handle the position and the approach can translate, they may not need the slugging to arrive before the first call.
August 1 would be aggressive, but not impossible
I would still call the August 1 scenario a reach today because Lombard’s .298 slugging percentage is not a small detail, and the Yankees cannot promote a name because the position is annoying them.
The counterpoint is that deadline decisions are not always about who is perfectly ready. They are about which options solve the most problems at the right time.
If Volpe cools off, Caballero keeps bouncing around, and Lombard keeps getting on base while tightening the defensive reps, the Yankees may have to consider the uncomfortable version of this. Their shortstop answer might not come from a trade, a veteran shuffle, or another patience speech.
It might already be in Scranton.
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