The New York Yankees were not an “especially close” second place to the Chicago Cubs in the race to land slugger Kyle Tucker, New York Post columnist Jon Heyman reported.
The reason wasn’t just that they were not willing to give up Rookie of the Year Luis Gil, but they were also not willing to trade one of their highly-touted prospects.
It wasn’t Jasson Dominguez or Spencer Jones. Instead, it was 19-year-old shortstop George Lombard Jr.
“Yankees did not want to part with both Luis Gil and George Lombard Jr. in (a) package for Tucker. They view Gil as a potential No. 1. Never got especially close,” Heyman wrote on X.com.
Gil has proven himself at the major league level and it’s understandable that since he is under team control until 2029 they do not want to move him. But Lombard, Jr. is still a teenager and is not close to making an impact on the big-league Yankees.
So why are they so keen on holding onto him? It’s a combination of pedigree and potential.
The son of former big league outfielder and current Detroit Tigers bench coach George Lombard, he is ranked the third-highest prospect in the Yankees system, according to MLB pipeline.
Taken by the Yankees with the 26th overall pick in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of high school, the shortstop is only 19 years old and finished the 2024 season in High Class-A ball.
“Lombard could have solid tools across the board once he’s fully developed. He has a sound right-handed swing and mature approach at the plate, allowing him to control the strike zone and employ the entire field. He already has plus bat speed and strength as a teenager, which translates into plus raw power that could grow as he fills out his projectable 6-foot-2 frame,” MLB Pipeline wrote about him.
The young Lombard is not only credited with athletic ability, but has an unusually high baseball IQ for such a young player, MLB Pipeline explained.
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