As far as Yankees prospects go, George Lombard Jr. was about as untouchable as they come as the trade deadline passed Monday.
That is because on Tuesday, he is being summoned for his big league debut in The Bronx.
The Yankees are calling up Lombard, a source confirmed to The Post on Monday night, to see if the 21-year-old that they hope is their shortstop of the future can deliver a spark in the present.
The club announced it was optioning Anthony Volpe to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, clearing the way for Lombard’s arrival as it begins the post-deadline sprint 3 ¹/₂ games back of the Rays for first place in the AL East.
Lombard, who returned from multiple sprained fingers in mid-July, has been tearing it up at Triple-A, batting .268 with an .845 OPS across 56 games — including .377 with a 1.081 OPS in 14 games since coming off the injured list.
The Yankees were asked plenty about Lombard leading up to the deadline, when they acquired lefty slugger Luis García Jr. and righty-hitting outfielder Heliot Ramos for lesser prospects but hung on to Lombard so they could deploy him themselves beginning Tuesday.
“I think he’s had an outstanding year,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday. “I think he’s gotten better. I think he continues to show a ton of progress. We love the kid and the makeup. It’s been fun to see him — any of your minor league players or prospects, you want to see them develop and get better. In George’s case, obviously a high-profile one, that’s continued to happen. It’s a testament to his work ethic and his talent.”
Since he arrived in the Yankees organization — as their first-round pick out of high school three years ago — the son of former big leaguer and current Tigers bench coach George Lombard has been hailed for his off-the-charts makeup and high baseball IQ.
That, along with his high-level defense and offensive upside, allowed him to race through the minor leagues and should help him as he jumps into a playoff race with less than two months to go in the regular season.
GM Brian Cashman said in early July that Lombard was “plug and play ready to go” defensively, which should provide a solid floor for his introduction to the big leagues.
It remains to be seen what the Yankees get out of him offensively — he has typically taken at least a few weeks to adjust to new levels — though he demonstrated a high on-base ability and some emerging power throughout his time in the minors, and now will have a runway to settle in before October arrives.
After the deadline passed Monday, Cashman indicated that the Yankees had explored adding a shortstop or infield help but did not ultimately see a match — at a deadline when no major league shortstops got traded.
A large part of that had to do with Lombard looming.
“I don’t think there were a lot of opportunities that existed that were upgrades for us,” Cashman said. “We like the players we have and we like the players we have on the come. … It was going to be a high bar.”
When describing his negotiations with the Tigers on Tarik Skubal, who ultimately went to the Dodgers, Cashman hinted that they may have asked for (and refused to move off) Lombard, a price he was unwilling to pay.
The Yankees began the season with José Caballero as their starting shortstop while Volpe finished off his rehab from offseason shoulder surgery.
By the time Volpe was ready to return, Caballero was playing at a high level, so the Yankees optioned Volpe to Triple-A until Caballero suffered a small fracture in his finger.
That provided a lifeline for Volpe to get called back up, but neither he nor Caballero put a stranglehold on the position, opening the door for Lombard to get his shot.
Now, the Yankees will get to see what he makes of it.
