The New York Yankees optioned Anthony Volpe to Triple-A after Monday night's game, and are reportedly calling up their top prospect George Lombard Jr.
Lombard has played 56 games at the Triple-A level and has an .845 OPS. Since July 13, he is hitting .393 with four homers and 13 walks to just 15 strikeouts. He is looking big league-ready, and many Yankees fans are about to get their wish and watch him replace Volpe.
Volpe was once the team's top prospect, just like Lombard, but has not turned into the player many expected. He won a Gold Glove as a rookie, but his offense has been flat-out bad. He has a .224/.287/.373 slash line and 53 homers in 528 career games. Things had clearly gotten to a point where the Yankees were ready for a change at shortstop.
Lombard has been described as an exceptional defender, whose bat may already be better than Volpe's, even if he struggles early on in the big leagues. If Lombard is as good as everyone expectes him to be, this may be the last Yankees fans have seen of Volpe.
Sure, Volpe could make his way back to the big leagues and play a different position, but it's clear the Yankees view Lombard as the shortstop of the future. Volpe could come back as a third baseman if the Yankees want to give him a shot there over Ryan McMahon or Jose Caballero. He could also be a candidate to play second base next season if the Yankees let Jazz Chisholm Jr. walk.
However, he has not proven that he deserves to be an everyday player. The Yankees' best bet may be to trade him to a team that views him as a talented shortstop whom they can fix.