George Lombard Jr. complicates Yankees fans' Kyle Tucker trade aggravation

Missing out on the chance to sell high on Luis Gil's Rookie of the Year campaign currently feels like the clearest misstep of the New York Yankees offseason — an offseason that notably includes getting outbid on Juan Soto and refusing to offer his family a suite.

Gil won last year's award in a weakened class, riding the high of his remarkable start (6-0, 0.70 ERA in May) and successfully banking on those numbers obscuring his difficult summer (6.45 in June, 5.25 in August). By October, Gil wasn't to be trusted for anything more than short spurts in Game 4s, pulled at the first sign of trouble. He was felled by a back injury in August, though it's hard not to suspect something was also going on in June, when his elite fastball flattened out and lost the corners.

Under team control through 2028, there's a good chance he reaches impressive highs again with the Yankees. There's also a good chance he never again replicates his May after entering the season known as an elite arm with severe control issues (and a history of abbreviated seasons due to injury).

According to Bob Klapisch, it wasn't the Astros that balked at dealing Kyle Tucker to the Yankees, but rather New York that walked away, unwilling to include both Gil and George Lombard Jr. in a potential package. And while all the ranting and raving has been reserved for the Gil portion of the deal, post-lat strain, there is something to be said for Lombard Jr.'s breakout.

After all, the Yankees didn't surrender any position player nearly that valuable in exchange for one year of Soto. Two seasons of Michael King, with very few MLB starts under his belt, or Lombard Jr.'s entire career?

Did Yankees pass on trading Luis Gil, George Lombard Jr. for Kyle Tucker? And were they right to do so?

While Lombard Jr. didn't receive quite the preseason hype that Spencer Jones did one year ago, he's clearly approached spring training filled out and prepared for power. Still just 19, the shortstop (and possible future third baseman?) looked Troy Tulowitzki-ish again last Monday night, seamlessly socking a mammoth home run to cap an impressive offensive outburst.

He has a long way to go before he's big-league ready, but the calls for him to get a chance at third base will begin soon, and might even be justified by the time 2026 rolls around.

Trading possibilities for proven talent in a contention window is typically a smart idea, but it's worth asking how many Yankee fans dead set on sending Gil to Houston also understand walking away after watching Lombard exert his authority this spring. The Soto trade was undoubtedly worth a trip to the World Series, no matter what the external chorus now has to retroactively say about it. Still, though, after falling short last season, nothing shy of a championship would've justified trading a heftier package for one season of Tucker.

The Gil injury makes New York's hemming and hawing look much worse, but Cody Bellinger's potential production and Lombard Jr.'s upcoming season could change the calculus once again in short order.