Cubs: The Gleyber Torres-Aroldis Chapman trade looking better every day

Cubs watched Gleyber Torres break out in a big way in 2018

Less than two years later, Torres made his Major League debut with the Yankees, going 0-for-4 against the Blue Jays on April 22, 2018. In this instance, though, that was a first impression fans in the Bronx quickly got past.

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In his first full season with New York, Torres earned an All-Star nod, batting .271/.340/.480 with 24 home runs and 77 RBI en route to a third-place finish in AL Rookie of the Year balloting. It was more of the same in 2019, with the then-23-year-old mashing a career-high 38 home runs and driving in 90.

At that point is when criticism of the trade resurfaced in Cubs circles. That’s about the time the allegations against Russell surfaced, costing him the rest of his season – and the Chicago offense cratered late, as the team missed the postseason altogether for the first time since 2014. That led to the team and manager Joe Maddon parting ways and an aura of uncertainty settled over Wrigley Field.

Imagine what that lineup might have looked like with Torres in the mix. Could he have made a difference for Chicago? We’ll never know. But watching him put up a monster year in the Big Apple really irked some here in the Windy City – and started prompting more second-guessing of the blockbuster trade that sent him to the Yankees.