Should The Yankees Trade Jasson Domínguez?

Domínguez took the league by storm, homering off future first ballot Hall of Famer Justin Verlander in his first career at bat, and clubbed four home runs in his eight games in 2023.

It weirdly feels as if the Yankees don’t have the utmost confidence in Domínguez, though, as he only has one career playoff at-bat. That at-bat came in the 2025 ALDS against the Blue Jays, in which he doubled in. New York also didn’t replace Alex Verdugo with him in 2024 down the stretch of the regular season or the postseason, where he was close to zero offensively and was only providing value defensively.

What Are The Concerns With Domínguez?

Domínguez is currently a strong side platoon hitter as he struggled mightily vs left-handed pitching in 2025 with a .204 batting average, .569 OPS, 36.5% strikeout rate, and a 63 wRC+. Those are pedestrian numbers from the switch-hitter, and it doesn’t help that Grisham also struggled against lefties this past season as well.

What also doesn’t help Domínguez is the fact that he was one of the worst defenders in the sport last season, with -7 Defensive Runs Saved, -10 Outs Above Average, and -9 Fielding Run Value in 793 left field innings. Domínguez was also constantly taken out of games, especially early in the season, for Grisham as a late-game defensive substitute. Domínguez didn’t make them regret it with his horrid defensive play out there, unfortunately.

Domínguez also only had ten home runs in his 381 sporadic at-bats, including 29 in total, with 18 doubles and one triple.

The book is now out on him, and he must adjust to major league pitching, just like they did for him. Domínguez had a 26.8% strikeout rate, 30.9% chase rate, and 27.2% whiff rate; that’s just not going to cut it with the low volume of power he just hit for. Dominguez shouldn’t be in the 30th percentile in Expected Weighted On Base Average, 24th percentile in Expected Batting Average, 21st percentile in Expected Slugging Percentage, and 33rd percentile in Barrel %.

What Is The Upside Of Domínguez?

There’s still a good amount to like about Domínguez, as in total, he hit .257 with a .719 On Base Plus Slugging Percentage, 103 wRC+, and a .331 On Base Percentage in 2025.

This past season, Domínguez hit .274 with a .768 OPS, a .348 OBP, a 116 wRC+, and nine of his ten home runs against right-handed pitching.

Three of those home runs also came in a game against the Athletics, making him the youngest player in New York’s history to have a home run game at 22 years old. This is a comfortably above-average bat vs righties with an impressive 11.1% walk rate vs them as well.

Domínguez is also one of the quickest players on the team, as he stole 23 bases with his 84th percentile sprint speed at 28.7 feet per second. Surprisingly, the Yankees haven’t really tried Domínguez in center field yet, with his speed and 92nd percentile arm speed, especially since left field is so tough at Yankee Stadium.

Domínguez also has elite bat speed in the 80th percentile, is in the 85th percentile in Hard-Hit %, and hit .264, .254, and .247 on fastball, breaking, and offspeed pitches this past season.

The End Of My Jasson Domínguez Rant

In my humble opinion, I wouldn’t give up on Domínguez yet or cash in on trading him for anyone that’s not of star-level quality personally. The Yankees have been looking for a starting pitcher even after the Ryan Weathers trade, so maybe something of that ilk. Prospects are a lottery ticket at the end of the day, especially of Domínguez’s caliber. Don’t do something moronic involving him.

Other than that, I would say not to be eager to move on from someone of Domínguez’s skill set at only 22 years old. We can attest to his power being zapped due to the TJ surgery, but there are no excuses for the defense. Grisham is a free agent in 2027, so just have Domínguez and Spencer Jones, if he’s still here, fight for the center field position. New York also has to (knock on wood) prepare for the inevitable Giancarlo Stanton injury, forcing Aaron Judge to Designated Hitter and opening up an outfield position for potentially Domínguez.

It’s been puzzling to even see level-headed Yankee fans be fine with trading away Domínguez for people like Graham Ashcraft, or Mariners people floating the idea of Emerson Hancock or Logan Evans.

There’s just no way this is how the mighty have fallen, one of the most hyped up prospects in existence since he was 16 years old, and the Yankees would be fine with cashing in on his immense talent at his lowest possible moment? I’m just not buying it personally. Sure, he’s not the most perfect 4th outfielder since he has the same weaknesses as Grisham, but you always have to brace for an injury.

I’d much rather rely on Domínguez who’s quicker, has shown to hit righties in the majors, and has a good eye over the likes of someone like Spencer Jones. Jones has the power advantage pretty comfortable as well as the defense, but he also had a 41.4% strikeout rate in 67 Triple-A games in 2025, which makes him incredibly risky.

Sure, Judge is under contract for six more seasons, and Bellinger will be in New York for at least two more seasons, but don’t give up on The Martian just yet. Center field is wide open, and there can’t be any way that Domínguez’s defense is worse out there compared to an extremely tough Yankee Stadium left field.

If they trade Domínguez, it better be for an impact bat, starter, or reliever. Don’t waste the ammo on a highly touted can’t miss prospect who took the league by storm, and had a typical 22-year-old season with inconsistent at-bats. Also, who’s to say that Domínguez can’t improve against left-handed pitching? It’s been fewer than 100 at-bats against southpaws; hopefully, he’s been putting in the much-needed work in this offseason to prepare himself. I will admit that it’s not ideal that Domínguez had a .707 OPS in the minors against lefties in 2023 and a .510 OPS against them in the minors in 2024. I’ve seen crazier things happen, though.

There’s no doubt reason for concern about Domínguez, especially if New York doesn’t see him as a future center fielder, which would basically make him the permanent fourth outfielder. Let’s hope that’s not the case and they’re just taking their time with developing Domínguez in the majors, though. Worst things worst, Bellinger can play an adequate center field as well.