Yankees' trade deadline stance on George Lombard Jr. could be Brian Cashman parting gift

At this year's trade deadline, the Yankees were once again linked to all of the biggest names but came out with an underwhelming return. Luis García Jr. and Heliot Ramos were the acquisitions, and that was it. But once again, it was perhaps a move Brian Cashman didn't make that has the Yankees in an even better position.

Top prospect George Lombard Jr. was the focus of almost every other team considering a blockbuster trade. All of the Tigers, Padres and Rockies reportedly asked for the young shortstop when discussing deals for Tarik Skubal, Mason Miller and Hunter Goodman.

Cashman didn't budge. Once again, he made his conservative trades and avoided anything that screamed "risk" or "overpay." Typically, that draws the ire of fans, but there really wasn't an opportunity out there that made it feel worthwhile. This year's trade market wasn't exactly flush with attainable options. Do we have our critiques? Absolutely. But the Lombard Jr. decision is already aging well.

Hours after the deadline, Lombard Jr. was promoted to MLB as he continued to rake at Triple-A. He's now appeared in five games and is hitting .294 with a 1.047 OPS, two homers and two RBI. He's also played spectacular defense, which has been night and day after watching Anthony Volpe and Jose Caballero this year.

Lombard Jr. is looking like a future cornerstone (though we don't want to speak too soon). But outside of Jasson Dominguez's 2023 debut in Houston, we haven't seen a Yankees top prospect make an immediate impact like this since ... since ... ??

Brian Cashman's best trade deadline deal is once again one he didn't make for Yankees

The defense has been an immediate and seemingly elite upgrade. And don't forget he has the ability to play second and third base. The bat looks advanced for his age and development. He has a great eye and clearly adopts a two-strike approach, unlike 95% of Yankees hitters over the last six years or so.

While we will undoubtedly give Cashman credit for not overspending on an imperfect asset and trusting Lombard Jr.'s eventual impact, we also need to say a broken clock is right two times per day. Cashman famously refused to trade any of Volpe, Oswald Peraza, Jasson Dominguez, Austin Wells, Spencer Jones, Deivi Garcia, Estevan Florial, Luis Gil, Everson Pereira and various others when their value was at its peak. That has greatly impacted the Yankees' championship window as they failed to make meaningful upgrades from 2021-2023, further affecting their 2024-2026 seasons. So while holding steady on Lombard Jr. deserves praise, it's also consistent with Cashman's approach. He never sells the team's top top prospects at their peak.

You know the front office also counted Lombard Jr.'s promotion as a "trade deadline addition" too. That's how they do their roster math.

But so far, so good. Lombard Jr. appears to be everything past Yankees shortstop prospects are not, and we have to be positive and hopeful about that. Another promising development is that he doesn't seem to be a byproduct of the Yankees' PR machine. He's given thoughtful and candid answers when speaking to reporters. Breath of fresh air.

Hopefully this is just the start of Lombard Jr.'s promising run with the Yankees. And when this team returns to full strength, we will see him at his peak powers as he's surrounded by more major league hitters instead of bench players. That'll give the front office extra points if and when that time arrives.

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