The New York Yankees are approaching the 2026 MLB trade deadline with a major need at the catcher position. They could look to acquire one of many options this summer to address this need.
Austin Wells hasn’t played well enough, and the Yankees are now seriously exploring trade options. Ryan Jeffers of the Minnesota Twins could be an option, but the Twins might be contenders, so New York might have to pivot.
Amid such an interest, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic noted how the Yankees could face a tricky question with top prospect George Lombard Jr., as he could be the key piece to land 31-homer catcher Shea Langeliers this summer from the Athletics.
Yankees could face tricky George Lombard Jr. trade question
“It would be one thing if the A’s could land a prospect as prized as De Vries for Langeliers,” Rosnethal writes. “Yankees Triple-A shortstop George Lombard Jr., whom Law ranks No. 6, is nearly at that level, but he might be close to untouchable.”
If the Yankees deem Lombard untouchable, then it might prove to be difficult to land some of the best options at the MLB trade deadline behind the plate.
Langeliers, the 28-year-old catcher from the A’s, is under club control through the 2028 season, is a one-time All-Star, and hit 31 home runs last season.
This season, he’s playing at a high level once more. He has 22 home runs through 90 games and in 365 at-bats with a .260 batting average and .820 OPS with a 120 OPS+. He’s also already at 3.3 bWAR, just 0.3 bWAR from a career-high.
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Adding Langeliers to the Yankees’ offense would be about as good as it could get. Hunter Goodman is another trade target, but just like how the Athletics will ask for a ton, so too will the Colorado Rockies.
Lombard might have to be the centerpiece of a deal for such a talented catcher, which is a very difficult question for the Yankees.
Do they trade their best prospect for help in 2026 to pursue a World Series title in what appears to be a wide-open American League? It’s tempting.
But the massive price tag of Lombard might be too much for the Yankees to budge. Regardless of whether they’d actually move him or not, this question is one the Yankees will have to solve by the deadline, as it could determine who’s traded for this summer.