Apr 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New York Yankees left fielder Jasson Dominguez (24) catches a ball hit by Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan (not pictured) during the second inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Analyst: Yankees Nearing Breaking Point With Rookie Outfielder

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Jack Markowski | Last updated May 20, 2025 3:00 PM ET

Jasson Dominguez's defensive struggles have been a point of concern ever since the former top prospect broke into the big leagues, but they proved particularly costly during the New York Yankees' Subway Series bout with the New York Mets this past weekend.

For starters, the rookie left fielder took an odd angle and saw the ball glance off his glove as he attempted to cut off a Pete Alonso single in the fourth inning of Saturday's contest, helping the Mets tie the game at 1-1.

Later in the day, Dominguez failed to put himself into proper position on a Francisco Lindor fly ball with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, instead deferring to Cody Bellinger despite the fact that he was forced to make a tougher throw home as a lefty. The blue and orange subsequently took a 3-2 lead on the sac fly and would proceed to earn a victory.

Francisco Lindor gets the job done with a sac fly and the @Mets have grabbed the lead! #RivalryWeekend pic.twitter.com/D9y5cY4yoc
— MLB (@MLB) May 17, 2025

Bellinger told reporters after the contest that he and Dominguez later discussed the play, as the veteran center fielder believed the latter had a cleaner lane to potentially cut down the winning run.

Dominguez's ineptitude with the glove has continued to snowball even as he's gained more experience at the major league level, which is why FanSided's Thomas Carannante is of the opinion that the Yankees' patience is privately waning.

"Yes, the best time to shake off the rust is early on in the year, but the rust is very much still there," Carannante wrote."So, behind the scenes, there's no way the Yankees can be feeling that great about their former top prospect holding down left field when the games start to matter more and more."

Among the 15 qualified left fielders in the league according to FanGraphs, Dominguez has posted the fewest Outs Above Average (OAA) at -5 and the third-lowest Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) total at -3. Additionally, he has fallen eight percent below his estimated success rate according to Baseball Savant.

While Dominguez has a strong arm and is plenty athletic, he has yet to put all of the pieces together in the field. He's still providing value with the bat as a switch-hitter, owning a .241/.342/.421 slash line with five home runs and a 120 wRC+ through 155 plate appearances, but some of his playing time could soon be in peril.

With both Trent Grisham and Bellinger excelling at the plate while also profiling as far superior defenders to Dominguez, which has already led to a reduction of his time spent in the outfield, Giancarlo Stanton may eat into the youngster's designated hitter reps once he returns from injury as well.

The future remains undoubtedly bright for Dominguez, though the short-term outlook is a bit murkier.

"In short, it all just comes back to Dominguez's below-average defense and lack of comfortability in left field," Carannante wrote. "For as much as fans might prefer to convince themselves that the Martian has 'improved' on that front because of how his bat has been making an impact, it's just not the truth."

Make sure to bookmark Yankees On SI to get all your daily New York Yankees news, interviews, breakdowns and more!