Yankees insider throws the cold water no one wanted on George Lombard Jr. promotion

The New York Yankees, per the rumor mill, are giving serious consideration to promoting George Lombard Jr. from Triple-A to fill their starting shortstop role. He recently returned from injury with a vengeance, hitting .483 with a 1.502 OPS in July, bringing his Triple-A season totals to .264/.835. He's traditionally struggled in early adjustment periods at every level before unlocking things, meaning his MLB stardom might not be imminent, but getting his feet wet before a playoff push would seem to be a good idea.

According to Joel Sherman, though, the Yankees are actually hesitating rather than waiting just a few more days to press the button.

"They are very concerned about screwing with what they feel is a natural gestation period for what a prospect should go through that was slowed down for a few weeks with a hand injury recently," Sherman said on his New York Post podcast, Pinstripe Post.

Per Sherman, even pro-Lombard people within the organization would prefer to see him earn an open spot in spring training next year rather than crash the party preemptively.

The best part of this quote is it sounds like something directly out of Seinfeld. "You're not gung ho about George?! How can you not be gung ho? I thought we were gung ho!"

"Gung to my head? Not ho much." (George in other room: "Oh-HO!")

The worst part of this quote? Every other part of this quote.

Yankees shortstops proved vs. White Sox that George Lombard Jr. promotion could be meaningful

As a Yankee fan, I know that the exact time you wanted to hear this Sherman quote was immediately after Jose Caballero failed to field a hotshot grounder while playing in with one out in the ninth last night before Anthony Volpe dropped the game-ending popup, forcing David Bednar in for the final out. Neither shortstop covered himself in glory, though all of a sudden Volpe's 97 wRC+ looks superior to — NO! Don't do it. Don't do it. Maybe second baseman of the futu -- NO! Don't DO it!

For a Yankees team that needs trade upgrades at catcher, third base, and in left field, at the very least, it's hard to argue against promoting your No. 1 prospect, a shortstop, as he's scorching through Triple-A. But some of what was on display Monday night is probably partially responsible for any Yankees trepidation. They forced Volpe through the pipeline as the savior, only for him to become the villain as the team stood by him for longer and longer. If they aren't 100% certain Lombard Jr. is an immediate upgrade, the same narrative could start to take hold amongst this aggressive fanbase if he falters.

I'd still be gung ho about it, though. In case you're wondering.

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