New York Yankees youngster Jasson Domínguez is one of the most exciting prospects ever to come through the team’s system. Since he signed with the Bombers as a 16-year-old in 2019, the Martian has been known for his power-hitting potential from both sides of the plate. However, his outfield defense must be addressed.
When Domínguez came up late in the season last year, he was shaky at best as a defender. Fans hoped he could fix that part of his game in the offseason, but he hasn’t.
The top of the fifth inning on Sunday was nearly a disaster, thanks to Domínguez’s defense. He almost dropped a routine fly ball for the second out of the inning. The ball bounced around his mitt as he one-handed it, catching it too low and off to one side, not locking it into the glove or using his throwing hand to secure it.
Then, he let what appeared to be a catchable line drive bounce in front of him, knocking starter Marcus Stroman — clearly and justifiably frustrated about the play — out of the game. The 22-year-old nearly let the ball get past him, but a fortuitous hop kept it before him and held the runner on first base.
"I feel like he keeps getting better. I thought his work in spring training was excellent."
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 29, 2025
Aaron Boone talks about Jasson Domínguez's work in left field this spring and how he has improved at the position: pic.twitter.com/pGz0UWe62X
New York could temporarily solve the problem by moving him to DH full-time, at least until Giancarlo Stanton returns. That would put Oswaldo Cabrera in left and Oswald Peraza or Pablo Reyes at third base.
The problem with that fix is that the Bombers would lose Ben Rice. A catcher and first baseman by trade, Rice has started two of the Yankees' first three games at DH. He’s shown an excellent ability to drive the ball so far, hitting a single off the right-field wall on Opening Day and then drilling an upper-deck homer in the third game.
Domínguez, who slashed .314/.376/.504 in the minors last year, needs to be in the lineup to develop as a hitter at the big league level, but so does Rice.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone has handled the situation by pulling Domínguez late in games, shifting Cody Bellinger to left and putting Gold Glover Trent Grisham in center field.
Hopefully, that strategy continues to work. Otherwise, the Bombers must consider sending Domínguez down to the minors with an ultimatum: work overtime to fix your defensive game or stay there.
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