The New York Yankees have not gotten great production out of the shortstop spot this year, and promoting top prospect George Lombard Jr. could give them a boost.
According to Yankees insider Ryan Garcia, the Yankees are considering promoting the 21-year-old despite minimal time in Triple-A. The thinking is likely that he cannot do worse than Anthony Volpe is right now. Lombard was absent from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's lineup on Thursday, and fans were speculating that a move was coming. However, he pinch-ran in the game.
The Yankees may actually be waiting until next month to bring him up for his debut. Aug. 15th is the earliest the Yankees can call him up and keep him without having him graduate to Major League Baseball through service time. That would help them keep a Prospect Promotion Incentive draft pick in the future.
Service time manipulation is a valid reason for the Yankees to hold him back, but at some point they need to start stacking wins again. Without Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, they risk fading too far in the American League East to catch up to the Tampa Bay Rays. Additionally, the Boston Red Sox have gotten hot and could cause them problems as well.
Lombard has a .832 OPS in Triple-A, but has only played in 47 games at the level. He is the Yankees' No. 1 prospect on MLB Pipeline and graduated from Double-A in just 20 games. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the 20th-best prospect in baseball.
