NEW YORK — On Friday, high New York Yankees prospect Jasson Domínguez was with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, beginning in left discipline and batting second.
On Sunday, Main League Baseball lively rosters will increase from 26 gamers to twenty-eight. That will permit the Yankees to name up Domínguez while not having to kick another person out to make room for him.
Will they do it?
“I don’t know,” supervisor Aaron Boone stated earlier than Friday’s sequence opener in opposition to the St. Louis Cardinals at Yankee Stadium. “We’ll see. We haven’t made that call. So, I don’t know.”
However ought to they name up Domínguez? The Athletic’s Yankees beat reporters Chris Kirschner and Brendan Kuty focus on.
Jasson Domínguez zooms across the bases on his first triple of 2024 in 11.75 seconds! (110.5 mph EV, no much less.)
Solely SS Anthony Volpe has posted a quicker home-to-third amongst gamers nonetheless within the @Yankees org this season.@swbrailriders | @NYYPlayerDev pic.twitter.com/LiIE28HmBo
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 28, 2024
Ought to the Yankees name up Domínguez?
Kirschner: This must be an apparent choice given the choices accessible to the membership. The reply is a convincing sure. He could also be a difference-maker for the Yankees down the stretch and into October.
Left discipline has been one of many weakest positions for the Yankees this yr. Going into Friday, their mixed 84 wRC+ ranked twenty fourth in MLB. Defensively, they have been thirteenth amongst all groups in outs above common in left discipline. They usually have been final in Statcast’s baserunning above common. The bar can be low for Domínguez to show that he may outperform what the Yankees have already acquired from left fielders this yr.
The Yankees will probably be cautious about how a lot Domínguez performs if he’s known as up, as they’ll need to guarantee he retains his rookie standing for 2025. He wants to remain beneath the profession 130 at-bat threshold to be thought-about a rookie subsequent yr (Domínguez has 35 profession at-bats). If he wins Rookie of the 12 months in 2025, the Yankees would obtain a conditional draft choose on the finish of the primary spherical.
There’s no draw back. They should see if Domínguez can win the on a regular basis left-field job.
Kuty: You make compelling factors, Chris. I’ll play Satan’s Advocate.
Would calling up Domínguez and giving him a month-long audition be thrilling? Completely. May you additionally argue that it could be impractical? Maybe.
There’s no assure Domínguez would arrive within the Bronx and instantly placed on the present he did in his debut final yr, hitting 4 house runs with a .980 OPS in eight video games earlier than tearing his ulnar collateral ligament. That was electrical. It will even be asking rather a lot.
Final yr, when Domínguez broke into the majors on Sept. 1, the Yankees have been hardly in competition. They have been three video games beneath .500. They have been 17 1/2 video games again within the AL East. The Yankees talked like they have been nonetheless going for it, however a playoff-less October felt like a close to inevitability. There was little stress for Domínguez.
This is able to be totally different. May he deal with it? He completely may. He’s dealt with all of the hype that got here together with his franchise-record $5.1 million signing bonus at age 16. However there’s no denying it could be rather a lot to placed on the shoulders of the 21-year-old. To not point out our subsequent query …
In the event that they known as him up, what occurs to the roster?
Kirschner: Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone stated if Domínguez have been to be known as up, they might ideally need him enjoying usually to not stunt his growth. That will imply Alex Verdugo would lose his beginning job. It could additionally imply Trent Grisham will get pushed down additional on the depth chart. On the times Aaron Choose began because the crew’s designated hitter, Domínguez may begin in heart discipline.
Possibly the Yankees wouldn’t need to ruffle the clubhouse by changing Verdugo — whom Choose personally advocated buying and selling for this offseason and in years prior — to begin a rookie. However Verdugo has had practically a season’s value of video games to show he shouldn’t compete with a rookie for his job, and he’s failed.
He’s graded out as a damaging offensively, on the bottom paths and public superior defensive metrics are cut up on his worth. Is that not sufficient for the group to imagine it could possibly do higher by attempting somebody totally different? And if Domínguez doesn’t work out over the subsequent month, nicely, they’ve remained in first place with Verdugo being one in all MLB’s worst on a regular basis place gamers.
There appears to be the next probability of Domínguez being a extra impactful participant than Verdugo in October.
Kuty: I may see that. You definitely may argue that Domínguez has the next ceiling offensively than Verdugo — even within the brief time period. There’s no sugarcoating it: The 28-year-old has not been what the Yankees anticipated on the plate.
The Satan’s Advocate argument, although, can be that Verdugo has really appeared like a robust and, at occasions, glorious defensive left fielder. He’s had a number of memorable gaffes, however he’s additionally somebody I feel makes nearly all of the routine performs, sacrifices his physique and has a heck of an arm. Plus, he’d be way more aware of the place than Domínguez when it’s crunch time in October.
If the Yankees have been to advertise Domínguez and bench Verdugo, I feel there can be a non-zero likelihood the crew may designate Trent Grisham for project and have Verdugo take over his position as fourth outfielder.
Understanding that it’s a small pattern, Verdugo has appeared a bit higher on the plate these days. Getting into Friday, he was on a five-game hitting streak (.421 BA, 1.029 OPS), which coincided with when he switched to batting gloves made with supplies that stopped inflicting allergic reactions on his pores and skin. Verdugo struck out in all three of his at-bats Friday night time.
As for the clubhouse, I feel it could deal with the transfer wonderful. Such as you stated, Verdugo has had loads of time to show himself, and it’s not like they might be changing him with a no one.
What do we predict occurs?
It’s not a slam dunk that Domínguez would be the selection on Sunday. If the Yankees resolve to make an inner transfer, Domínguez is probably going the candidate.
Nonetheless, the Yankees may go for an exterior candidate. The St. Louis Cardinals designated Tommy Pham for project on Friday. If the Yankees are on the lookout for a platoon associate for Verdugo, signing Pham is perhaps a very good transfer. Pham has a .762 OPS this yr in opposition to left-handed pitching, whereas Verdugo had a .609 OPS in opposition to lefties getting into Friday. One other exterior choice can be Robbie Grossman, whom the Texas Rangers designated for project on Thursday. Grossman’s OPS in opposition to lefties is .819 OPS this season and .809 for his profession.
All season, the Yankees have lauded Verdugo for his bat-to-ball abilities. In the event that they wished to maintain enjoying him typically, having a platoon associate may very well be the easiest way to maximise his manufacturing.
(Picture of Jasson Domínguez: Cliff Welch / Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Photographs)
