New York Yankees top prospect Jasson Dominguez took a big step in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, playing five innings in center field with Double-A Somerset, which is his first time playing the field since he started his rehab assignment, according to Greg Joyce of the New York Post.
Jasson Dominguez has been on a rehab assignment for the last couple of weeks, and had been in the designated hitter spot prior to Wednesday. Him playing not only the outfield, but center field is an encouraging sign for the Yankees.
When the Yankees signed Dominguez as an international free agent, there was a ton of hype surrounding him and his tools. He is a rare athlete when looking at his skills. Coming through the ranks, Dominguez struggled at some points, but once he figured out each level of the minor leagues, he started to mash pitching, resulting in a promotion. He has been hitting very well on this rehab assignment. In 11 games so far with the Tampa Tarpons and Somerset Patriots, Dominguez is hitting .317 with a .391 on-base percentage, an .879 OPS and two home runs, according to MLB.com.
Dominguez earned a late call up to the major leagues last year with the Yankees out of the playoff picture, and he lived up to the hype. He played in eight games before suffering the elbow injury, and hit .258 with a .303 on-base percentage with a .980 OPS and four home runs, with two of them coming against the Houston Astros.
That brief glimpse of Dominguez at the major league level made the excitement for his future hit overdrive with the Yankees fanbase, and resulted in him shooting back up the prospect rankings. He is now firmly the No. 1 prospect in the Yankees' system again, and for most outlets ranks in the top 20 in all of baseball. The question is whether the Yankees will need him in the big leagues at some point this season.
Does Jasson Dominguez have a role with the 2024 Yankees?
Dominguez's stellar performance in his brief stint in the 2023 season has some fans asking when he will be back with the major league team, but with how well things are going for the Yankees this year, especially in the outfield, it might be tough for him to crack the roster.
The Yankees obviously traded for Juan Soto this offseason and have Aaron Judge, but the addition of Alex Verdugo has worked wonders for the team as well. There is no benching Aaron Judge or Juan Soto, and it would seem unwise to mess with a thing that is working by benching Verdugo for Dominguez, who is still just 21 years old and has a long future ahead of him.
If there is an injury, Dominguez undoubtedly would be called upon at some point, as long as he is healthy, but as for now, there is no need for him. It seems that the most likely scenario for Dominguez when he wraps up his rehab stint, is that he is sent to Triple-A to play with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders so he can play every day. There is no reason to call Dominguez to the majors to not play every day.
If all goes to plan, the Yankees likely would finish this season with Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Verdugo in the outfield. Soto and Verdugo are free agents at the end of the year, and there is undoubtedly interest in re-signing Soto, but Verdugo seems like a one-year solution. Whether or not Soto is back with the Yankees in 2025, that is when there is a clear opening for Dominguez to earn a spot in the outfield.
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