Yankees make George Lombard roster decision for 2026 MLB season

The New York Yankees hope George Lombard Jr. is the future for them at shortstop.

He's just not going to be the present.

On Thursday, the Yanks reassigned Lombard to minor league camp after he had spent the early stages of Spring Training with the big league team.

MLB.com's Bryan Hoch reported the news on Thursday.

"Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has said the club believes Lombard -- baseball’s No. 32 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline -- could handle big league defense right now, but he would benefit from more development time to reach his offensive potential," Hoch writes.

Hoch adds that Lombard is likely to begin the season with Double-A Somerset.

The shortstop played in 11 spring games with the Yankees and went 5-for-27 with one double, one triple, one home run and two stolen bases. His homer was off Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet.

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Lombard hit .329 a season ago at High-A Hudson Valley, then just .215 following his promotion to Double-A.

Returning to that level to start the season, Lombard would be expected to hit the ground running, especially now having experienced an extended period in big league camp with the Yankees.

“I’m refining my approach with every at-bat,” Lombard told Hoch this spring. “I think the most important part is just competing, having competitive at-bats and not giving any free ones away.”

Soon enough, the Yankees are hoping that he can bring that ability to the major leagues. Just not quite yet.

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