TAMPA — When Jasson Domínguez was squeezed out of taking part in time late last season, the Yankees could have despatched him to Triple-A.
But Brian Cashman “didn’t think that was right to do,” he acknowledged over the winter, because there was still a position for the outfielder to play off the bench in a playoff chase.
Now the Yankees are coming into a spring in which they have another crowded outfield, with even more {dollars} dedicated to Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger, and Domínguez on the outside trying in.
Might the new yr and new scenario change the equation for whether Domínguez will be optioned to Triple-A once camp breaks?
“If everything stays the same, we’ll be forced to determine what’s our best course of action to help this team be impactful,” Cashman said Friday from Steinbrenner Field.
“I would concede it’s in his best interest to be getting everyday reps.”
Jasson Domínguez hits a ground-rule double during the Yankees’ Aug. 27 sport. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post
Realistically, barring accidents, the only place for that to occur would seem to be at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Domínguez just turned 23 and the Yankees, through some of his rising pains last yr, typically pointed to the truth that he did not play a complete lot during his rise through the minors because of accidents and having a season wiped out by COVID.
So there is worth in giving him a likelihood to go play every day in the minor leagues, even after spending all of last season in The Bronx and offering some manufacturing in 429 plate appearances.
That case is only bolstered by the truth that there is not a clear lane for Domínguez to play off the bench, other than pinch-running.
He is a switch-hitter who is stronger from the left facet, but Grisham and Bellinger also hit left-handed.
The last spot on the Yankees’ bench — particularly after they re-signed Paul Goldschmidt — may be higher used for a right-handed hitting outfielder, and/or an above-average defensive left fielder, which Domínguez was not last season.
Jasson Domínguez makes a catch during the Yankees’ July 28 sport. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post
“Domínguez is an extremely talented player,” Cashman said. “He’s one of our greatest runners. So having him as a alternative for our supervisor to use coming off the bench at instances as a pinch-runner to steal a bag or first to third, second to home, what have you, positively improves our possibilities of success because of his pure athleticism.
“We’ll just have to wait and see how the spring shakes out, who’s standing and then we’ll make the appropriate decisions when we have our meetings closer to the end of camp.”
It would only take one damage for Domínguez to soar back in the combine, though Spencer Jones — the heart fielder with thunderous energy but excessive strikeout charges — will also strive to make his case to be the next man up this spring.
“Depth chart, in theory, you’d have him behind Domínguez going in because Domínguez has had more experience than he does,” Cashman said. “But that’s not going to stop him in competition.”
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