Yankees fans were none-to-happy with the lack of success by Brian Cashman and the front office for the moves they didn't make as the August 3 Trade Deadline came and went on Monday.
The Yankees needed help at catcher, another arm in the bullpen, and potentially another starting pitcher.
For whatever reason, the Yankees couldn't get the job done. The one catcher they pursued, veteran Adley Rutschman was traded from the Orioles to the Red Sox instead, a move that certainly proved to be a punch to the solar-plexus for many.
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| George Lombard Jr. Getty Images. |
Rutschman, who is dealing with a wrist injury, is batting .251 with 8 homers and 47 RBI. Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman didn't get into specifics, but the Yankees admitted that they had many "conversations" with Baltimore.
As for a starting pitcher, the Yankees wanted Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, but Detroit's asking price was insane, as it centered around New York's top prospect, and the man at the center of this article, George Lombard Jr.
Of course Detroit would want Lombard, not only because he was the best prospect in the Yankees system, but his father is a bench coach with Detroit. The Yankees felt they had to balk there. If the Dodgers win a World Series over, let's say the Yankees, with Skubal leading the way for L.A., many will point this pivotal moment.
But consider this: since getting promoted on Tuesday, Lombard has demonstrated both a good bat and glove. He crushed a solo home run in his first at bat in a Yankees 2-0 win on Tuesday, and then showed great range at short stop in the Yankees 3-1 loss to the Cardinals on Wednesday.
Yankees fans have been clamoring for Lombard to get the call for a long time, as the fan base quickly turned on former top prospect Anthony Volpe over the past couple of seasons. Volpe was the apple of the Yankees eye in 2022 and 2023 as he exploded on the scene with the Double-A Somerset Patriots.
A life long Yankees fan from New Jersey, Volpe was labeled early as the heir apparent to Derek Jeter's thrown. And early on it looked great as he broke out with 21 homers his rookie year in 2023. But since they he has fallen. His average has slipped; his defense has been suspect as well.
After missing most of the first half of this season as he recovered from off-season shoulder surgery. When he returned he didn't do enough to keep the job at short. Simple as that. Lombard was too dominant at Triple-A for the Yankees not to make the move.
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| Anthony Volpe. Getty Images. |
Volpe now heads down to Triple-A, along with fellow former top prospect Jaason Dominguez to work things out. Perhaps Volpe can find success at second?
In many ways it's a sad state of affairs for this crop of young Bombers. Volpe, Dominguez, and catcher Austin Wells were all top-5 prospects in the farm system just a few years ago. They were supposed to be the next generation, and it hasn't worked out.
Volpe has struggled. Dominguez either can't stay healthy or can't stay in the majors long enough.
Wells, despite catching one of the best staffs in baseball (3.34 team ERA), has struggled all season with the bat; he's hitting only .169 with eight homers and 16 RBI. He's a liability with the bat, an issue nobody saw coming just two years ago when he came up.
At the very least Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler have turned out to be All-Stars. Ironically neither Rice nor Schlitter were top 5 prospects, but rose to Top 15 and Top 10 stats respectively very quickly over the last year and a half.
The question is can the Lombard promotion quiet Yankees fans' anger at Cashman and Co. for not getting more help for this team? Probably not.
Yes, the Yankees added some needed pop by acquiring veterans Luis Garcia Jr. (via Washington) and Heliot Ramos (via San Francisco) to a lineup without Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger.
The Yankees are betting their Big Three return by September so they can get back into the flow of things quickly for a postseason run. But without required help for a beleaguered bullpen, and concerns still about the quality of catcher, patience will be tested big time.
At the very least, Lombard gives the Yankees the quality of player they need for a jolt. Time will tell how much of a jolt that is.
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