Jasson Domínguez’s showing in the postseason embodied what the Yankees think of the young outfielder.
For a second straight October, Domínguez barely got off the bench when it mattered most, but unlike their World Series run of 2024, the 22-year-old at least got an at-bat during these playoffs.
It was a pinch-hit, rocket double from the left side that clocked in at 112 MPH.
But it followed a wild-card series and ALDS in which Domínguez barely played a role, and that came after a September in which he was an afterthought, with just 20 plate appearances in the entire month.
The Yankees say he’s an important part of their future and he’s still the youngest player on their 40-man roster, but at some point, Domínguez needs to play up to expectations.
And heading into this offseason, not even the Yankees have much of an idea if that will be the case.
“I expect him to be right in that mix to be that guy,’’ Aaron Boone said this week. “I still really like his ceiling. But, again, you’ve got to see where the winter takes you and what the roster looks like. I expect him to be a regular player for us, though.”
To Boone’s point, the Yankees outfield situation is in flux. Trent Grisham is a free agent after emerging as a power threat as an everyday centerfielder and Cody Bellinger is expected to opt out of his contract to hit the open market after a stellar season in The Bronx.
Boone said he expected Domínguez to play winter ball this offseason and work in left field, but if the Yankees don’t bring back Bellinger or Grisham, it seems hard to believe they would entrust Domínguez to play left field on a regular basis, given his deficiencies at the position.
He primarily played center in the minors, although Boone noted he didn’t have a lot of minor league games due to injuries and the COVID-shortened season of 2020.
Still, among 19 outfielders who played at least 790 innings in left this past season, none had a worse defensive runs saved rating than Domínguez’s minus-7, according to Fangraphs.
And his minus-10 outs above average was the worst among 34 outfielders, according to Baseball Savant.
“Definitely, left field continues to be a work in progress,’’ Boone said. “I think he made tremendous strides there.”
Scouts were less impressed with his growth defensively.
“I don’t see a guy that’s comfortable there, and Yankee Stadium isn’t a place you want someone who’s figuring it out,” an AL scout said.
Since the Yankees also have a question mark in center, it’s hard to know where Domínguez lands, but Boone said the team continues to like his arm strength, speed and athleticism, and believes the work he put into improving that part of his game will pay off.
But the other issue is that while Domínguez has shown he can be dangerous from the left side of the plate, he’s struggled from the right side.
He had just a .569 OPS and one homer in 104 plate appearances as a right-handed hitter and struck out 34 times.
“He did a lot of really good things this year,’’ Boone said. “We all see his ability at the plate. He didn’t hit for a lot of power, but there’s power in there to all fields from both sides of the plate… He has a chance to really hit and be a good defender. And we saw the impact he can have on the basepaths. This season very much showed us we can still dream on [him].’’
Until that dream becomes a reality, though, the Yankees will be hard-pressed to simply hand him an everyday spot.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
