Yankees can make ultimate George Lombard power move with Anthony Volpe at Double-A

The New York Yankees entered 2026 with the opinion that George Lombard Jr.'s bat isn't MLB-ready yet. But the Yanks' leadership might need to take a second look and reconsider that stance.

Lombard showed flashes of competent hitting in spring training, but he's absolutely caught fire now that the season's started, and the Yankees won't able to ignore it for much longer. And why should they? With Anthony Volpe now stationed in Double-A Somerset, it's the perfect opportunity for New York to promote Lombard to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

George Lombard Jr. is forcing Yankees' leadership to promote him

Through eight games in Double-A this year, Lombard is slashing .469/.528/.844/ (15-for-32) with two homers, six doubles, and 27 total bases. On Tuesday night, Lombard smashed an RBI double off the rehabbing MLB All-Star Zack Wheeler, who praised Lombard after the game for his "good bat path" and "good swings all night."

Maybe it's time to bump him to Triple-A while Volpe's rehabbing at Double-A to make a statement? How much more will Lombard need to prove at Somerset honestly? We know development isn't linear, but when you're hot, you're hot.

In the same game, Yankees fans couldn't help but notice the irony of Volpe going 0-for-2 with two strikeouts in his own rehab debut. It was the most striking side-by-side view of New York's rising shortstop star (Lombard, the club's No. 1 overall prospect) and Volpe, who was not long ago in Lombard's shoes but has since fallen from grace in the eyes of most Yankees fans.

There's another irony to think about amid Volpe's current path back to the Yankees' starting shortstop job. While Volpe may have assumed that Jose Caballero was the greatest barrier to Volpe reclaiming his rightful place in the lineup, it may end up being Lombard whom Volpe really has to worry about in the near future.

This isn't to speculate that the Yankees are going to fast-track Lombard to the bigs this season to compete with Volpe and Caballero for playing time; the Yanks aren't nearly bold or experimental enough for that.

But Lombard's growing confidence and effectiveness at the plate signal that he's going to be ready for the Show sooner than the Yankees expected. Brian Cashman has openly stated that Lombard is an MLB-ready defensive shortstop. At this point, only Lombard's bat is holding him back from a meteoric rise to the top of New York's shortstop depth chart. And that bat is looking really good these days.

The Yankees need to start giving George Lombard chances to knock on the MLB door

It's about time the Yankees start making power moves with Lombard. Promote him to Triple-A immediately, and put him in a position to seriously knock on the door. It's not as if Volpe and Caballero have done anything in the past calendar year to prove they are surefire answers at the position.

Lombard won't stay this hot, but if he can land on some consistency at the plate moving forward, his ceiling is much higher than Volpe's, especially given the defense. There's a changing of the guard in the air, and the Yankees will be better off because of it.

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