Jasson Dominguez. Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees’ handling of Jasson Dominguez makes no sense

By Aaron Case | Last updated Aug 30, 2024 10:18 PM ET

The New York Yankees have a Jasson Dominguez–sized hole in left field. Current left fielder Alex Verdugo is feebly slashing .234/.294/.361, while Dominguez is mashing .309/.368/.485 in the minors.

But the Bombers won’t commit to filling their Verdugo hole in with the young phenom, even after scoring only nine runs in three games against the lowly Washington Nationals — and with rosters conveniently expanding on Sunday.

According to The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner , reporters pressed Yankees manager Aaron Boone to reveal his plans for the Martian. Boone responded, “I don’t know. We’ll see. We haven’t made that decision, so I don’t know.”

Aaron Boone when directly asked if Jasson Domínguez will get called up on Sunday:

“I don’t know. We’ll see. We haven’t made that decision, so I don’t know.”
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) August 30, 2024

The possible reason they haven’t called Dominguez up yet may drive Bombers fans crazy. Per MLB reporter Bryan Hoch, they could be trying to turn Dominguez into an extra draft pick.

“Jasson Dominguez will retain his rookie status for 2025 provided he does not exceed 130 career at-bats (he has 35 right now),” Hoch explained on X. “Keeping his rookie status for '25 allows the Yankees to receive a draft pick after the first round in 2026 if Dominguez wins the 2025 AL Rookie of the Year Award.”

The Yankees' front-office decision-making is nonsensical. They accumulate superstars in Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Gerrit Cole, and then bring in Verdugo, who’s been steadily declining since 2020. They plug holes with bargains like out-of-position Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Even when they have a perfectly viable resource in Dominguez available, the Yankees appear to be choosing the penny-pinching route. Essentially, they’re trying to fix a Lamborghini with duct tape.

That duct tape should hold long enough to get them into the playoffs —maybe even with a first-round bye. But expect the wheels to fall off rather quickly when they try to get going against high-quality postseason opponents.

Aaron Case

Aaron Case is a die hard Yankees fan from upstate New York who fuels his writing with too much coffee. When he's not riding the emotional roller coaster that is the MLB season, he's probably daydreaming and doodling or making beats. Follow him on X @AarontheCase1

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