The Yankees are in the playoffs, but George Lombard Jr.’s first run through the majors is raising real questions at exactly the wrong time.
New York promoted the 21-year-old knowing the learning curve would be steep. Through more than 30 games, that curve has shown up everywhere - especially on defense, where the rookie shortstop has looked rushed and uneasy on plays that should be routine.
The talent is obvious. The polish isn’t there yet.
That showed up again in the Yankees’ 8-3 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sept. 14.
In the bottom of the ninth, Lombard Jr. took a throw from second baseman Anthony Volpe on what should have been a straightforward force out. Instead, he hurried the play in an effort to turn two, and both runners were ruled safe.
The Yankees did get the double play one batter later, but the sequence fit a pattern that has been building around him. Earlier in the game, he also failed to secure a line drive that hit his glove, extending the inning and helping the Yankees lose their lead.
On Tuesday, there was another strange moment when Lombard Jr. took too long on a routine play with Royce Lewis running. Lewis reached on a ball he should not have been rewarded for, then eventually scored the Twins’ only run on a two-out single that trimmed the lead to 2-1 before the game got away.
In 33 games, Lombard Jr. has already had both his brightest and roughest moments. He hit the Yankees’ first grand slam of the season on Sept. 9 against the Colorado Rockies. He also went through a dubious six-game stretch in which he made an error in every game.
So the question isn’t whether he’s shown promise. It’s whether he’s ready for October.
The Yankees need him to be functional, not flawless, but the margin for error gets thin in the postseason. Through his first 282 1/3 innings this season, Lombard Jr. has made eight errors, which works out to roughly one every four games.
Over a full season, that pace would point to about 40 errors, a number that would land near José Offerman’s 42-error season in 1992. That kind of math is obviously not how a season plays out, but it does underline how shaky things have looked.
Still, the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Lombard Jr. has eight Defensive Runs Saved, which puts him in the top 10 among shortstops in all of baseball.
His Outs Above Average sits at 1, which tells a different story, but there’s enough there to believe a young player with his athletic tools can tighten things up. Right now, the game just seems to be moving a little too fast for him at times.
That has been true at the plate, too. He posted a .677 OPS in August and showed some ability to go the other way while putting together respectable at-bats.
September has been much rougher. Outside of the grand slam on Sept. 9, he has had a hard time adjusting to major league pitching.
Opponents have started to pick at his weaknesses. But Aaron Judge’s return could help lighten the load.
Since Judge came back on Sept. 8, the Yankees are 5-1 and have averaged 4.83 runs per game, up from their season average of 4.57. With more depth around him, Lombard Jr. may get the breathing room he needs to slow things down and find some rhythm before October begins.
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