Daily Report – 8/4/26
Yankees
For a little while, Brian Cashman was on top of the world. Hopefully he relished his seven minutes of glee, because what happened in the eighth inning last night against St. Louis was the predictable end to a miserable, embarrassing day for the New York Yankees.
But after yesterday’s 13-7 loss to the Cardinals, the Yankees announced plans for George Lombard Jr. to make his Major League debut tonight. This ends the long Anthony Volpe experiment, and it begins a new era of Yankees baseball as their top prospect (13th overall) finally plays in the Bronx.
Lombard has had an outstanding season in Triple-A, batting .268 with six home runs, 10 stolen bases, 21 RBI, and an .845 OPS in 56 games. At 21 years old, his 30-game on-base streak convinced the Yankees it was time for him to take the next step.
For months, I’ve been saying that Lombard is exactly what the Yankees need. Young prospects can do wonders for struggling lineups. Look at JJ Wetherholt in St. Louis, Konnor Griffin in Pittsburgh, and Kevin McGonigle in Detroit. Because of their athleticism, they have high batting averages and are consistent scoring threats when on base.
The Yankees aren’t testing whether Lombard, their top prospect, can hack it in the Majors. With his defensive skills, they fully intend to make him their everyday starting shortstop, which is why they optioned Volpe to the minors. This means José Caballero will rotate with Ryan McMahon and Amed Rosario at third base.
However, let’s not let the Lombard news steal the show. The Yankees had an embarrassing deadline, failing to add a catcher or reliever. They traded for Luis García Jr. on Saturday and added Heliot Ramos to their outfield depth chart yesterday.
The Yankees were in on Adley Rutschman, but Baltimore’s asking price was too high. The Red Sox were willing to part with three of their top five prospects in exchange for an injured catcher. So fine, the Orioles were asking too much. But that didn’t mean Cashman had to punt on a catcher altogether.
It is worth noting that despite his .167 batting average and .559 OPS this season, Austin Wells is 9-for-35 (.257) with three home runs and a .924 OPS in his last 15 games. He had two hits yesterday, including a two-run home run in the fifth inning that put the Yankees on the board.
New York was trailing 6-0 after Cam Schlittler and Tim Hill combined to allow six runs in 4 1/3 innings. Uncharacteristically, Schlittler was off his game. Across three innings, he allowed four runs on four hits and five walks, requiring 83 pitches.
“He just couldn’t really find the zone when he needed to,” Wells said of Schlittler. “I think they made him get in the zone, and when they did, they put some really good swings up against some good pitches. He just fell behind a lot, and when they swung, they made some really good swings.”
In the fifth inning, Wells started the Yankees’ comeback. Then, after a pitching change, Trent Grisham went deep to cut the six-run deficit in half. In the seventh inning, McMahon and Caballero hit back-to-back home runs, and four batters later, the newly acquired García put the Yankees ahead with a 424-foot drive that made him grin from ear to ear.
García, born in New York City, grew up a Yankees fan. His favorite player was Robinson Canó, a left-handed-hitting infielder who could hit for power. That is exactly what García became, and yesterday, he proved the New York City lights were not too bright.
At that moment, Cashman must have felt like the greatest man alive. Wells and García each had two hits and a home run, and the Yankees had scored seven unanswered runs to take the lead. But remember, it wasn’t just a catcher that Cashman declined to obtain.
The Yankees’ bullpen has been stretched thin over the last few weeks, including a 10-game road trip with two extra-inning games and five one-run contests. Yesterday’s game was the Yankees’ 11th in a row, so their bullpen was due for an implosion.
After a pinch-hit triple by Blaze Jordan off Ryan Yarbrough to lead off the eighth inning, Boone summoned Angel Chivilli from his bullpen. Since being recalled on July 5, the righty had not allowed any earned runs in 13 1/3 innings.
But this time, his stuff was lacking, and he helped the Cardinals construct a seven-run frame, including Alec Burleson’s third home run of the night. Suddenly, adding a reliever at the deadline didn’t feel like such a bad idea… Right, Cashman?
In his post-deadline press conference, in addition to reporting the results of the deadline, Cashman updated reporters on Aaron Judge’s status. While he ultimately claimed he still believes Judge will return this season, he beat around the bush a bit.
“That’s a fair question on anybody’s side,” Cashman said when asked how concerned he is that Judge might not return this season. “Is that possible? It’s always possible that things don’t go the way you want. We currently are still very optimistic that he’s going to return, but there are challenges with all that.
“I can’t rule out any of it. I can only follow the guidelines so far, the timeline, time frame. [There is] a high likelihood and optimism that he fits that time frame to get back and join us. That’s what I’m hoping [for] and holding on to. That’s what [Judge] believes; that’s what the doctors believe. It’s always a moving target, too, until you get closer to the comfort of deployment.”
Also, with five straight wins, including a three-game road sweep of the Dodgers, the Red Sox now sit two games behind the Yankees, and one game behind in the loss column, for second place in the American League East. The division standings are hot, as the Yankees sit three games behind the Rays for first place.
Yankees Transactions (8/4):
NYY optioned RHP Angel Chivilli to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
NYY optioned OF Jasson Domínguez to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
NYY optioned SS Anthony Volpe to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
Tentative: NYY recalled RHP Yerry De los Santos from AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
Tentative: NYY recalled INF George Lombard Jr from AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
Tonight, at 7:05 PM, the Yankees will try to force a rubber game against St. Louis as LHP Ryan Weathers (4-7, 3.99 ERA) takes the mound against RHP Hunter Dobbins (2-1, 3.74 ERA) (YES, Gotham Sports). In his last two starts, Weathers is 1-0 with 11 strikeouts and one run allowed in 12 2/3 innings.
Schedule
7:05 PM: NYY vs. STL; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: LHP Ryan Weathers (4-7, 3.99 ERA) vs. RHP Hunter Dobbins (2-1, 3.74 ERA)
