Every season is high-stakes poker for the New York Yankees, and 2025 feels like it has a little extra juice.
After their World Series humiliation in 2024, the Yankees are out for revenge. They still haven't won it all since 2009, and that sort of drought doesn't fly for a franchise that judges itself solely on rings.
So with third base, the starting rotation, and the bullpen all looking like areas for improvement, how far will the Yankees be willing to go to increase their odds at a title before the trade deadline?
One baseball writer thinks they should be willing to use all the chips at their disposal.
On Thursday, Zachary Rotman of FanSided wrote that top shortstop prospect George Lombard Jr. should be on the table in potential trades this summer, though he was careful to say the Yankees would need to be blown away with what they got back.
"While the Yankees would obviously love to keep him, it would be foolish to keep him off the block completely," Rotman wrote.
Follow The Sporting News On WhatsApp
"First of all, while Lombard excelled in High-A to start the year, he has a .644 OPS in 55 games at the Double-A level since his early-May promotion. Who knows whether he can hit at that level, let alone the MLB level? Second... what if he can net the Yankees an awesome return?"
The 20-year-old Lombard wowed Yankees fans in major league spring training this year, and has steadily climbed prospect rankings lists ever since. But as exciting as his future appears, he can't help the Yankees until mid-2026 at the earliest.
Of course, there aren't many players available this summer who would command a return like Lombard. But the Yankees could have their ear to the ground in case some middling team is thinking about a full-scale reboot.
More MLB: Marcell Ozuna blockbuster? 3 teams identified as landing spots for Braves star