TRADING LOMBARD FOR ABRAMS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE

The Yankees have a shortstop problem. That much is undeniable.

What they do not have is a George Lombard Jr. problem.

That distinction matters as trade speculation begins connecting the Yankees to Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams. One proposal suggests there is a “pathway” to a deal if the Yankees construct a package involving Anthony Volpe AND Lombard.

That pathway should be barricaded immediately.

Abrams is an outstanding player having a spectacular season. Through July 27, he is batting .297 with a .367 on-base percentage, a .573 slugging percentage and a .940 OPS. He has 27 home runs, 82 RBIs and 114 hits. Among National League players, he ranks first in slugging, third in OPS and first in RBIs.

Those numbers are precisely why Washington would demand a staggering return.

The Nationals are not holding a clearance sale. Reports indicate that they are willing to listen, but they are not actively shopping Abrams. In a painfully thin shortstop market, Washington has every reason to demand an enormous overpayment for a 25-year-old All-Star performing like one of baseball’s premier offensive players.

That is where this proposal falls apart. Abrams is excellent, but the proposed price is ridiculous. The argument against trading for Abrams is not that he cannot play. He clearly can.

The argument is that the Yankees should not use their best opportunity to solve shortstop for the next decade as payment for someone else’s shortstop.

Lombard is only 21 years old, has already reached Triple-A and remains the most important position-player prospect in the Yankees’ system. He returned from the injured list in July and immediately collected nine hits in his first 17 at-bats, including four extra-base hits. Lombard has put himself into the major-league conversation.

That is not the type of prospect a smart organization includes merely because another team has made its asking price absurd.

Lombard is not an expendable lottery ticket buried in Class A. He is already knocking on the door. He possesses the athleticism, defensive ability, plate discipline and developing power to become the dynamic shortstop the Yankees have spent years trying to find. He's better than Volpe. The Yankees drafted him, developed him and moved him aggressively through their system. Now that he is approaching the majors, they are supposed to hand him away?

No.

Lombard should be considered off-limits. And the difference is the Volpe experiment has run its course. Volpe is a different conversation.

The Yankees have given him considerable time, patience and protection. At some point, potential must turn into sustained major-league production. New York cannot continue treating its shortstop position as a development laboratory while attempting to win a championship.

Volpe returned from shoulder surgery in 2026, but the organization’s public discussion has already shifted. José Caballero has entered the picture; Lombard is approaching the majors and questions regarding Volpe’s long-term grip on the position have become impossible to ignore.

There is nothing wrong with including Volpe in trade discussions. A change of organizations might benefit him, and the Yankees need to stop allowing draft status, popularity or past expectations to dictate their current decisions.

Volpe can go.

Lombard cannot.

Packaging the two together would be especially foolish. Volpe would be included as a distressed major-league asset while Lombard supplied the actual value Washington desired. The Yankees would essentially surrender their future shortstop to compensate for their present shortstop’s failure to establish himself.

That is backwards roster construction. The bottom line is the Yankees need to be smart. The proper solution is not to trade Lombard for a different long-term shortstop. It is to find someone capable of stabilizing the position for the remainder of 2026 without blocking Lombard in 2027 and beyond.

The Yankees need a rental.

That player does not have to be better than Abrams in a vacuum. Few available shortstops are. He needs to be a better acquisition for the Yankees because he would provide competent shortstop play without costing the organization its future.

Now look, the rental market is admittedly thin. MLB has described Abrams as the clear top shortstop potentially available because players such as Jeremy Peña, Zach Neto and Francisco Lindor are even less likely to be moved.

A thin market, however, is not permission to make a reckless trade. For me, the best answer is in the organization. There is also a possibility Yankees management appears reluctant to acknowledge:

Lombard himself might be the best shortstop option.

Bottom line, we need to move Volpe. Acquire a rental. Use Caballero if necessary. Promote Lombard when he is ready which is soon.

But under no circumstances should Brian Cashman trade George Lombard Jr. to solve a position Lombard is being developed to occupy.

The Yankees need a new shortstop now.

They should not sacrifice their next great one to get him.

THE ANGELS GAVE THE YANKEES A GIFT

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

I mean, sure the Yankees got a win tonight, wins are important. But they are playing the Angels, hardly a superpower in the American League. Yes, a win is a win, but no one saw Jazz Chisholm's at bat in the 9th inning?A sky-high infield pop that dropped? The Yankees didn't actually EARN this win, they got lucky. Be real about this... don't drink the Kool-Aid. We're not world champions... Boone just dodged a bullet.  The Yankees didn’t so much win this game as politely accept a gift the Angels forgot to wrap.

Down to their last breath in the ninth, a routine pop-up turned into a three-man group project between Zach Neto and Oswald Peraza—and like most group projects, nobody took charge. The ball dropped, chaos followed, and suddenly the Yankees had life they absolutely did not earn. I sound like a hater, Michael Kay will say I'm a hater, and I'll call him a Yankee ass kisser. His ass is owned. It's just the way it is.

Enter José Caballero, who decided subtlety was overrated and ripped a two-run double to steal a 5–4 win. Hero? Sure. But let’s not pretend this was some grand, orchestrated comeback. This was baseball’s version of tripping into a winning lottery ticket.

And yeah, a win is a win. The Yankees are 10–8 so far this year. Fantastic. Hang the banner. Except a week ago they were 7–1, and now the illusion is cracking faster than a cheap bat. This isn’t a juggernaut—it’s a team surviving on opponent mistakes and crossing its fingers that Aaron Boone doesn’t overthink his way into another disaster.

Because that’s really the issue. Boone manages like he’s playing spreadsheet simulator. The whole Ben Rice situation said it all—less “ride the hot hand” and more “consult the algorithm and hope for the best.” There’s no instinct, no edge, no “this guy’s locked in, don’t touch him.” Just numbers, matchups, and second-guessing in real time.

Pitching? Shaky. Lineup? Still has holes you could drive a truck through. And yet somehow José Caballero—yes, the guy hitting .179—is out here delivering bigger moments than Anthony Volpe, who, by the way, wasn’t even in action Wednesday while continuing his rehab assignment. They are babying his achy shoulder worse than babying an actual baby.

Caballero’s doing exactly what fringe players have to do in the Bronx: force the issue. Make it uncomfortable to take the bat out of your hands. Stack moments until the front office has to notice. But let’s be real—you can already see how this ends. Volpe comes back, Boone gushes and blows kisses, Caballero gets shoved aside, and we all get to watch the same bad Volpe movie play out again in May.

So yes, the Yankees “won” tonight. But let’s call it what it was: a victory built on a botched pop-up and blind luck. If that’s the blueprint, it’s not a strategy—it’s a warning sign.

YARBROUGH IS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

Yesterday’s headliner wasn’t Aaron Judge launching 4 dingers or anything. Nope, the star of the Yankees' 5–1 win over the Angels was none other than Ryan Yarbrough, the stealth bomber of the Bronx.

While Yankee fans usually flock to see fireballers pumping 99 on the radar gun, Yarbrough rolled in like a wily illusionist with a bag of tricks—none of which involved pure velocity. The southpaw spun six dazzling innings, allowing just two hits, one walk, and collecting seven strikeouts like they were coupons at the grocery store. His only real blemish? The sixth pitch he threw, which Zach Neto deposited into the center-field seats. After that? Silence from the Angels' bats—he ghosted them like a bad date.

And make no mistake: this isn’t just a one-night wonder. Since stepping into Carlos Carrasco’s vacated rotation spot, Yarbrough is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in four starts. Not bad for a guy whose spring with the Blue Jays was so rocky, it ended with him hitching a ride to the Bronx bullpen before being told, “Hey kid, you’re starting again.”

As a whole, the Yankees’ rotation has been dealing straight fire (even if Yarbrough’s version is more campfire than wildfire). In May, Yankees starters have posted a league-best 2.37 ERA—a dramatic drop from April’s more pedestrian 4.25. Credit Yarbrough for doing his part with kitchen-sink finesse: cutters nibbling at the edges, sweepers sweeping up the mess, sinkers sinking spirits, and changeups that confuse hitters like they forgot their glasses.

“I’ve never been the guy to really blow up a radar gun,” Yarbrough said with a smile that said, And I don’t need to be. “It’s about learning how to get guys out in other ways. I guess it’s a different look—something they don’t see every day.”

That “different look” is baseball’s version of a retro flip phone in a world of iPhones—unexpected, functional, and surprisingly effective. Sure, his fastball barely dents the 90 mph wall, and his breaking stuff is more yoga than CrossFit, but it’s working. Call it junkball jazz—rhythmic, offbeat, and occasionally brilliant.

Yarbrough’s journey has had its bumps. He's battled with inconsistent velocity, spring struggles, and a career arc that’s felt more like a sine wave than a steady climb. But now, nestled in the Yankees’ rotation, he’s found his groove.

In a league obsessed with power, Ryan Yarbrough is the changeup—literally and figuratively—that no one saw coming.