The New York Yankees look to be in action mode now. At the trade deadline, they added significant bats, and on Tuesday, they made another notable move by promoting George Lombard Jr. from their farm system. The moves came after they optioned three players following their 13-7 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, with Anthony Volpe being the biggest name among them. These decisions have certainly brought relief to Yankees fans, and a well-known New York baseball analyst is equally pleased.

“We said last year, literally last year… Anthony Volpe needed to be sent to the minors because he is not a big league ballplayer… Anthony Volpe is a losing ballplayer… So on a dark day for the Yankees, where they did nothing worth anything at the trade deadline, this put a smile on my face,” Adam Schein said, as per New York Post Sports on X.

Anthony Volpe’s demotion to Triple-A has become one of the biggest talking points surrounding the Yankees. The decision is not just about the struggles Volpe has faced since returning from shoulder surgery. He hit .240 with one home run and a .646 OPS in 56 games. Instead, it reflects the struggles he had been experiencing even before the surgery.

The highest batting average Volpe has posted in a season is .243, which came in 2024. However, he hit just 12 home runs that year, suggesting that while he was making more contact, he still struggled to generate power.

To top that, his career average sits just above the Mendoza Line at .224 with an OPS of just .660. And while Anthony Volpe was struggling to get his season running, Lombard was making his presence known. 

The 21-year-old recorded an .845 OPS in 56 games at Triple-A despite facing older and experienced pitchers. Since July 13, Lombard has an average of .393 with 4 home runs and has struck out 15 times.  

His glove had already drawn praise, as Brian Cashman said, “Defensively, he’s plug-and-play-ready to go.” 

And this promotion mainly shines a light on how support for Brian Cashman was already waning, something fans had been pointing out for a long time. Last September, Cashman said, “Yeah. I think he’s a good player,” despite Volpe posting a disappointing .212 batting average that season.

He also insisted that Volpe’s struggles “don’t change our viewpoint of what he’s capable of.” However, Derek Jeter took a different stance, saying, “It’s obvious the Yankees have committed to Anthony… But they’re not also committed to him being the shortstop. They’re committed to allowing him to continue developing at the major league level.” Jeter argued that the Yankees’ job was to develop Volpe, not back him blindly. 

That is why many fans believe this move benefits both the Yankees and Volpe as the season enters a do-or-die stage. They are currently in second place in the AL East with a 64-50 win-loss record and .561 PCT. Even in the Wild Card race, they sit just under the third-place leader, the Houston Astros, and are overall 7.0 games behind.

The Yankees last won the World Series in 2009 and came close to ending that drought in 2024. This year, however, they are leaving nothing to chance, and that became evident at the trade deadline. They added Luis García Jr. and Heliot Ramos as platoon options.

However, catcher remains one of the team’s biggest question marks, with Austin Wells struggling despite playing almost every game. Against that backdrop, Lombard’s promotion could prove to be a saving grace for the Yankees’ offense.