The Yankees announced a spate of moves ahead of Sunday’s series finale against the Cardinals, in what is usually a mostly harmless Twitter/X transaction post that the team puts out dozens of times per season. But it’s September 1, the Yankees have lost four of five games and there was one name that was notable for its absence in the post: outfielder Jasson Dominguez, the Yankees’ top overall prospect.
And supporters of the Bombers were not happy about it. The Yankees opted to keep Dominguez in the minors and instead promoted recently signed light-hitting speedster Duke Ellis. Let’s have a sampling of reactions, shall we?
From “Nestor’s Apple” (@appleofnestor)
“There’s a young, switch hitting, 5-tool player who can very easily be called up right now that would make this lineup much, much better just in case no one in the org was aware. What the hell are we doing here?”
From “Reject Degeneracy” (@RejectDegenercy)
“The yankees are not serious about winning. CLOWNS.”
From “4 Train Savages” (@FourSavages)
“Do you guys enjoy being stupid? Why is Jasson Dominguez not part of this?”
Finally, from “Christian”(@Christian_NYYST)
“The #Yankees are an absolute joke and an embarrassment. They want us to pour our hearts and more importantly our money into this team and we get DUKE ELLIS instead of Jasson Dominguez because Alex Verdugo’s .652 OPS is so vital to them winning. (Expletive) you.”
Jasson Dominguez Batting .313 in Minors This Year
OK, so tell us how you really feel, Yankees fans.
Indeed, the decision to keep Dominguez in the minor leagues is an odd one, for two main reasons. One, he has made clear he can hit minor-league pitching, and there might not be much use in keeping him at Triple A Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Dominguez is batting .313 in the minors this year, with an on-base percentage of .370 and a .500 slugging percentage.
He did have Tommy John surgery late last year, and he was out with an oblique injury this season, too, but there’s not much more to prove for Dominguez.
The other reason to bring him up would be the struggles of outfielder Alex Verdugo, who has just not made the transition to the Bronx this season, batting a career-low .232 with a .292 on-base percentage and a .360 slugging percentage, also career lows.
Dominguez was brought up for one brief appearance in August, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Maybe that scared off the Yankees from bringing him back. Still, on the whole, giving Dominguez a longer shot at replacing Verdugo in left seems like a risk worth taking.
Yankees Noncommittal on Making Call-Up
The Yankees don’t agree, at least not yet. Dominguez, known as “The Martian,” is the top prospect in the Yankees system. The team has been grooming Dominguez for five years now, after having signed him as a 16-year-old in 2019, when the team used a record $5.1 million of its bonus money (out of a pool of $5.4 million) to land Dominguez, a record payout.
Manager Aaron Boone was asked about getting Dominguez back in New York (he played eight games last September) this week and was noncommittal.
“I don’t know. We’ll see. We haven’t made that decision, so I don’t know,” Boone told reporters, via Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.
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Yankees Ripped for ‘Absolute Joke’ Decision on Star Prospect Jasson Dominguez