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Several minutes after both the predictable and unthinkable — another team celebrating on the Yankees’ home turf, this time the Rays after sweeping through the ALDS — three Yankees lingered on the top step of the dugout. They stared. They absorbed. They stored what will be used as fuel.
Paul Blackburn peeled off the railing and began making his way to the clubhouse. Soon after, Aaron Judge followed.
And finally, the last Yankee to force himself from watching the revolting sight was the youngest: George Lombard Jr.
“I’m going to have to learn from it and keep this feeling with it and use that in the work next year,” Lombard said after the Yankees were eliminated Wednesday night in The Bronx. “… It sucks. It hurts. There’s a lot of things that go into it, but yeah, it’s definitely a feeling that you don’t want to feel after your last game.
“It’s definitely going to be on my mind a lot.”
The Yankees will not fondly remember 2026, when Judge and Giancarlo Stanton missed much of the season, their replacements did not adequately replace them and yet another campaign ended in disappointment, but it is at least possible it will be recalled as the year Lombard earned his shot.
A year that started in Double-A Somerset, where Lombard did not even last a month, ended as the everyday, playoff shortstop for the Yankees.
He showed flashes of brilliance defensively, and his fourth-inning highlight — in which he charged a chopper that had leaped over Max Fried, barehanded and slung a throw to cut down Junior Caminero — might have been remembered if the game finished differently. He also showed that he is 21 years old, both with his six-game error streak and in being part of the Game 2 defensive meltdown.
Offensively, he performed better than expected. The Yankees would welcome further steps, but a prospect known more for his glove and headiness hit .237 with a .699 OPS in his first 42 games before holding his own in October.
Lombard’s first playoff run, albeit brief, finished at 6-for-18 (.333) with six singles and four strikeouts. On Wednesday, he was a bright spot in stroking a hard-hit single, adding another on a slow roller to third and later walking, using an automated ball-strike system challenge — which has been a strength of his — to earn the trip to first.
“It was definitely a good experience for the first year,” said Lombard, who replaced Anthony Volpe and José Caballero at shortstop in early August. “I’m going to take everything with me because it’s not the way we want to end going forward.”
There is little known about the Yankees’ 2027 infield. Can they really bring back Ryan McMahon, who is owed $16 million for next season, made a costly error in Game 2, was benched in Game 3 and simply did not hit enough this season?
Is Jazz Chisholm Jr., who also was benched for the elimination game, a goner as a free agent? Are the Yankees serious about Luis García Jr. possibly getting work at second base, which would open first for Ben Rice? Is Paul Goldschmidt, who wants to keep playing, still an option as a lefty-killer at first? Where do Volpe and Caballero fit?
The best bet among the group is that Lombard, a 2023 first-round pick whose first taste of major league life included more promise than problems, will be back at shortstop.
And motivated.
“Definitely a lot to take from it,” said Lombard, who was particularly upset about Judge, Stanton and Goldschmidt coming up short of a title. “It just sucks to go out like this.”
