Yankees are all but screaming their feelings about George Lombard Jr.'s timeline

While Triple-A may be the highest level of the minor leagues, Double-A is where dreams are fortified. Triple-A rosters are often stocked with Quad-A players, up-and-down MLB lifers pushing 30 (or older) who are trying to keep their careers on ice in case they're called upon. Double-A is usually overflowing with younger prospects midway through a challenge, dripping with pedigree and tenacity. If you can conquer that level's electricity, you can likely handle the big-league jump. At least, that's what the Yankees have telegraphed over the years.

If the Yankees really believe in you, and they've got an MLB opening (or even a weak spot that can be prodded), they don't waste much of your time at Triple-A. Jasson Domínguez played nine games there in 2023 after dominating at Somerset. Anthony Volpe received some run at the end of the 2022 season (22 games), setting up what we thought was a perfunctory spring training roster battle, but turned out to be his coronation. Spencer Jones is the only recent exception who the Yankees seem to believe needs more time in the oven, but also ... who's he replacing right now, anyway (though the Trent Grisham wall crash on Tuesday surely had him racing to grab his glove)?

The best case for George Lombard Jr. this season involved him mastering Double-A on his second go-round in much the same way he laid waste to High-A last spring and made his elevation obvious. He did all that and more, hitting .312 with a .971 OPS in 20 games, evocative of his .329/.983 mark that proved he'd mastered Hudson Valley last season.

It's felt fair all along to doubt that the Yankees had any room to push him along to the majors this season, even for a September Jeter-in-1995-style cameo. Suddenly, though, that's out the window. He tweaked his swing this offseason in the name of power and, after sliding over to third base occasionally at Double-A ( which also accommodated Anthony Volpe's rehab), he's going to continue manning the position.

Yankees' George Lombard Jr. experimenting with MLB-geared position shifts at Triple-A

The Yankees already believe, per Jack Curry, that his glove is MLB-ready. If his bat makes him undeniable, and Ryan McMahon still continues to be (generously) hit-or-miss, even defensively, then it's impossible to rule him out.

Lombard Jr.'s mission isn't done. If he doesn't perform at Triple-A, and sticks in the same mud he did last year, then the timeline's shifts were merely phantom movements; he'll be back in play next spring if he can conquer a level in April for the third straight year.

But the Yankees are outright screaming that, if a job is there for the taking, they'd like him to take it. Based on their history, it might only take him ~30 strong games to prove himself viable.

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