The New York Yankees’ shortstop situation has been one of the more closely watched position battles in all of baseball this season, with Anthony Volpe, Jose Caballero and top prospect George Lombard Jr. all factoring into the conversation.
“All season, the daily narrative around the New York Yankees has been dominated by debates over who should start at shortstop: Anthony Volpe or José Caballero?” Brendan Kuty and Chris Kirschner wrote for The Athletic. “Now, with (the) trade deadline in the rearview, the club may have found a solution. Late Monday night, the Yankees promoted top prospect George Lombard Jr. to the majors…”
That ongoing competition also made the organization’s minor-league depth particularly important up to this point. Before Lombard reached the majors and seized the everyday role for the foreseeable future, the Yankees continued developing other shortstops throughout the system.
Up until this week, that included a promising 25-year-old option. But now that Lombard has been promoted and with Volpe sent back down to Triple-A, it seems the Yankees felt that they no longer needed him.
New York Yankees Cut Shortstop Depth After George Lombard Jr Promotion
As the Yankees continued debating between Caballero and Volpe, they seemed invested in the development of Owen Cobb, a former Stanford University standout who signed with New York as an undrafted free agent.
Cobb was promoted to Triple-A late last month as the organization took a closer look at its infield depth ahead of the trade deadline. Ultimately, though, the Yankees decided they could do without him shortly after that promotion.
He was released on Monday, according to the official transaction log.
New York Yankees Cut Young Shortstop Just After Injury Setback
Cobb’s professional career began with an unusual path. The Seattle Mariners selected him in the 37th round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of high school, but he chose Stanford instead.
He spent five seasons with the Cardinals, hitting .306/.353/.458 with 13 home runs, 26 doubles, five triples and 69 RBI across 148 games.
The Yankees later signed Cobb as an undrafted free agent in the middle of the 2024 campaign, giving him another opportunity to work his way through professional baseball. But his minor-league production was modest. Cobb finished his time in the Yankees’ system with a .257/.316/.372 batting line, six home runs, 28 doubles, four triples and 64 RBI.
Still, shortstop depth is valuable for any organization, particularly one navigating a complicated major-league situation at the position and Cobb hung on as a significant piece in the minors. But with the Yankees calling up Lombard and the Somerset Patriots announcing that Cobb had been placed on the seven-day injury list on July 31, it seems the organization decided to move on from him.