Yankees Mailbag: Lombard Jr.’s ETA and Grisham’s peripherals

Q: What is George Lombard Jr.'s expected arrival time to the Yankees?

George Lombard Jr. could potentially join the Yankees by mid-July if he continues his strong performance in Double-A.

Q: How is Trent Grisham performing this season for the Yankees?

Trent Grisham has a low batting average of .155 but shows strong contact metrics, indicating potential for improvement.

Q: Why is Ben Rice not getting more plate appearances for the Yankees?

Despite ranking high in batting metrics, Ben Rice has fewer plate appearances due to managerial decisions and a potential platoon with Paul Goldschmidt.

Q: What are the Yankees' current infield needs?

The Yankees have a glaring need in their infield, particularly at third base, which may influence their decision on promoting Lombard.

TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 28: George Lombard Jr. of the New York Yankees poses for a photo during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 28, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to **pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com**. *Chip23 asks:* **Is George Lombard Jr. the Yankees’ starting third baseman by the middle of July?** Lombard is certainly carving up minor league pitching down in Double-A right now, fueling hope that he’ll make the jump from top prospect to an impact bat in the lineup this year. Of course, we’re very early in the MiLB season and Lombard has only played 10 games and they’ve been played two levels away from the majors — important things to note. Last year, Lombard started off on a similar hot streak and earned a promotion from High-A Hudson Valley to Double-A after posting a .329/.495/.488 triple-slash in 24 games, a breakout performance after a down 2024 season that saw him never really figure things out at the plate. However, that step up in competition caused Lombard to struggle again once he started facing Double-A pitchers, as he posted a .695 OPS the rest of the way, nearly 200 points lower than his initial surge. The Yankees would have to see enough out of this start to give him the green light up to Scranton first, a promotion that is probably a good couple of weeks away if he comes close to maintaining the elite 1.186 OPS he currently has, and then also monitor how he handles the jump before making any kind of considerations on how he could impact the big league club. It’s not out of the question that Lombard could make that happen — the talent is there and is being recognized by plenty of scouts now, as he’s been a fast riser in top 100 lists. The bigger question is how fast and loose will the Yankees play with their best prospect, especially given how they handled the last middle infielder to come up as their top prospect. ’s development is surely a parallel they’re hoping to avoid — Volpe wowed the crowd in 2021, produced a very solid 2022 that got him a cup of coffee in Triple-A and then went straight to the big leagues with little time to ensure his bat was ready, to underwhelming results offensively thus far. The team is under pressure to compete this year, and they have a glaring need in their infield right now, but patience may outweigh everything else with Lombard’s ETA to try and ensure he can succeed as both an elite defender and hitter. Lombard’s currently covering third base down in Somerset with Volpe rehabbing there, and we may be getting a preview of the Yankee infield down the line, but a lot still has to go right for that to be the infield in 2026. *MSP Giant asks:* **He may walk a lot but he sure ain’t hitting. What if Grisham reverts to his pre 2025 play and is again, best off the bench. Then what?** Grisham got his get-right game on Monday against the Angels, pinch-hitting for and proceeding to go 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs including a two-run shot to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. Or at least, it would’ve been nice if that breakout performance was his get-right game, because in reality he followed that up with an 0-for-4 night with three strikeouts, getting just a two-run single in the second inning of Wednesday’s win before going 0-for again on Thursday. The results haven’t been there for Grisham, but out of all of the hitters pulling down the lineup, there’s the most to be optimistic with the Yankee center fielder. Despite posting a paltry .155 batting average, the contact that Grisham is generating has been very good. He’s in the 94th percentile for hard hit percentage at 55.6 and his average exit velocity of 90.9 mph is good for the 71st percentile. His Statcast page doesn’t quite read as unlucky as was looking last year, but it looks clear that the process has been good for Grisham and that he’s just not finding the outfield grass as much as he should be. Couple that with the elite eye for strikes that he’s shown, and there’s good reason that he’s still regularly been the leadoff hitter for New York. *The idiot that said, “Harper is coming” asks:* **I’m sorry, I have to say this. It is managerial malpractice that Ben Rice, who currently ranks fourth in MLB in batting Average, first in OBP, and first in SLG% ranks 140th in plate appearances. FIVE Yankees have more plate appearances than he does right now. A healthy Ben Rice needs to be in the lineup EVERY single day.** I get the frustration with not seeing Rice in the lineup, and share the sentiment in wanting the team’s best hitter to this point to get in the game as much as possible. Whether or not there’s a platoon being deployed with him and has been the biggest gripe fans have had with Aaron Boone’s management of the team this year, and you could argue that he’s sat a game or two more than is necessary, but they’re also making sure that their star in the making is going to ramp up to a full season of work and be in it for the long haul. The PSA editors (myself, Jake Devin, and Andrew Mearns) discussed Rice’s torrid start and the conversation around his starts recently, and as Jake noted, Rice is on pace to play in about 150 games and earn 620 plate appearances anyway despite the occasional spot on the bench. That’d also be the most he’s ever played in a single season, and as Andrew pointed out, Rice hasn’t had that full-year volume of games played due to having built-in days off as a catcher and having his college games cut down due to COVID. Ultimately, I’d like to see the Yankees utilize that catcher flexibility a bit and get him behind the plate occasionally (especially with not providing much), and that would help bridge the gap between playing Goldschmidt the proper amount while also getting Rice his at-bats, but I’m not as compelled to raise the alarm over him sitting the occasional game as most are. He’ll get into plenty of games, and as the season goes on I imagine the Yankees will be sitting him less and less whether that’s due to him being built up and ready to roll through longer stretches without off-days or injuries to the rest of the roster forcing him into action elsewhere.