The Yankees and Red Sox split their doubleheader on Saturday. While New York won the nightcap, 9-2, rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. exited early with an apparent right knee injury. Lombard tweaked it during an at-bat in the second inning (video via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). He stayed in the game for a little while longer, but the Yankees replaced him in the top of the fourth. José Caballero moved from third base to short, and Amed Rosario came in to man the hot corner.
Lombard underwent imaging after the Yankees pulled him, but it appears he dodged a significant injury. Speaking with Hoch and other reporters after the game, Boone said that “it looks like a day-to-day situation.”
Lombard has started every game at short since the Yankees promoted him on Aug. 4, though that streak could now be in jeopardy. The 21-year-old prized prospect got off to a dream start in the majors, even slugging a home run in his debut, but his bat has cooled over the past couple weeks.
After a 1-for-5 performance on Saturday, Lombard is hitting .253/.310/.367 (90 wRC+) with two homers over a 23-game, 87-plate appearance span. As a shortstop, defensive metrics have given Lombard mixed reviews (6 DRS, minus-1 OAA, minus-1 FRV). Although he recently put together a streak of six consecutive games with an error, tying an unwanted franchise record, the Yankees aren’t hitting the panic button.
“The good thing about George is, he’s so skilled and gifted out there, and foundationally he’s really good, too,” Boone said (via Hoch). “He will get through it. You’ve just got to get a few going and then start playing carefree and easy a little bit.”
Turning to the Yankees’ best player, injured right fielder Aaron Judge, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports he could come off the IL during the club’s Sept. 8-13 homestand. For now, the Yankees are still determining whether Judge will require a rehab assignment. The three-time AL MVP has been on the shelf with a stress fracture in his rib since June 2. If Judge returns in the first half of September, he will have at least a couple of weeks to ramp up in major league games before the playoffs. At 77-59, the Yankees are nine games up on a Wild Card spot and all but assured of a postseason berth.
Speaking of rehab assignments, right-hander Clarke Schmidt and third baseman Ryan McMahon began theirs with Double-A Somerset on Saturday. Schmidt, who is working back from June 2025 Tommy John surgery, threw 20 pitches (16 strikes) and gave up a pair of runs on two hits in two-thirds of an inning. Barring any setbacks, Schmidt could factor into the Yankees’ bullpen down the stretch. McMahon, out since Aug. 20 with a sprained left thumb, went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts. He should rejoin Yankees in the next couple of days.
Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images (via Reuters Connect)
