The Yankees’ shortstop debate got sharper on July 6, when Chris Kirschner wrote that neither Anthony Volpe nor José Caballero is a great answer for the job. He added that New York has to hope George Lombard Jr. is the one who can settle it.
That matters now because the question is not abstract. The Yankees are looking at their current options and, by that account, finding both too thin to treat as a real solution. With Lombard Jr. still out, the club is left weighing a present that does not satisfy against a future that is not yet available.
Lombard Jr. is New York’s No. 1 prospect, but he has not made his major league debut and was placed on the injured list on June 18 with sprained fingers on his left hand. He is 21 and was selected 26th overall in the first round of the 2023 MLB draft, which is part of why the Yankees continue to view him as the clearest internal path out of this mess. Before the injury, he was slashing.258/.387/.446 with an.833 OPS in the minors this season through 62 games, with eight home runs, 20 doubles and 25 RBIs.
The catch is obvious enough to undercut the optimism. The Yankees are being told to look past Volpe and Caballero even though the player singled out as the answer is unavailable and has yet to play in the majors. Lombard Jr.’s prospect profile says he has the bat speed and growing strength to produce more power than most shortstops, and that he started driving balls in the air more than ever in 2025, while also remaining a reliable defender who committed just seven errors in 111 starts at shortstop last season. He also played well in brief action at second base and third base, which only adds to the sense that the organization may be waiting on the right bat, the right glove and the right recovery all at once.
For now, the debate keeps circling back to the same place: the Yankees do not have a clean answer at shortstop, and the player they are counting on to become one is still on the injured list. That leaves Lombard Jr.’s return, not the argument around Volpe or Caballero, as the part of the story that could actually change it.
