Yankees promote Jasson Dominguez: What to expect from the move

The New York Yankees are calling up former top prospect Jasson Dominguez from the minors ahead of the team’s three-game series with the Texas Rangers starting on Monday.

Dominguez was demoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after being the odd man out in New York’s outfield shuffle. Re-signing Cody Bellinger plus Trent Grisham accepting the qualifying offer left him without a spot. As did the Yankees bringing in Randal Grichuk as a platoon bat versus lefties, whereas the switch-hitting Dominguez is a .186 career hitter against southpaws.

But now that Giancarlo Stanton is likely headed to the injured list with a calf strain, Dominguez is getting another shot. And a well-earned one at that. He’s hit .326 with three home runs and 15 RBI at Triple-A so far. His walks are keeping pace with his strikeouts.

Most notably, Jasson Dominguez has hit .389 against lefties this season.

There’s no word on how much time Stanton will miss, but make no mistake. There’s every chance that Jasson Dominguez is playing for his spot on the roster. Maybe not so much now—he’s still a complete and utter liability in the field—but maybe in the second half before the playoff push. And maybe even beyond too.

Let’s start with the more immediate future. As long as Stanton is out, Dominguez is the DH. Plain and simple. Full stop. Let’s not forget that he basically played a full season in the Bronx last year—125 games—and hit .257 with a 101 wRC+ and ten homers, plus 23 stolen bases.

In turn, fans should expect at least some improvement from the once-revered bonus baby. His biggest problem last season was that while he was hitting the ball plenty hard, landing in the 85th percentile, he wasn’t making quality contact. His barrel and squared up percentages were each in the 33rd and 13th percentiles, thus the groundball rate of nearly 44.5%.

That’s luckily an easy fix, just some mechanical adjustments. And thus far, down in the minors, Dominguez seems to have unlocked something. Meanwhile, his and the Yankees’ next ten games are against the Rangers and Orioles. One above average pitching staff, one about as average as can be. Seven of those games are at home with Yankee Stadium’s short porch, ideal since he’ll probably bat left-handed almost exclusively.

If he hits well enough? It might be tough for the Yankees to justify keeping Grichuk around, even if he is batting .333 in his last five games. Sure, he mashes lefties, but the glove isn’t enough to keep him around in favor of Jasson Dominguez.

Now, let’s talk about Stanton. Remember, we’re coming up on the end of his New York Era. The priciest years of his $325 million deal are in the past. The former MVP is making a mere $19 million this season. In 2027, the final guaranteed year of the deal, he will earn $15 million. Suddenly, that’s a much more tradeable contract for someone who’s still an elite hitter—when healthy.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. As of now, it looks as though Dominguez is just up to play DH while Stanton recovers and he’ll be back in Scranton soon. Even so, this is his chance to prove he’s worth the years-long hype. Remember the Yankees gave him $5.1 million as a 16-year-old back in 2019. He then debuted with a home run off of Justin Verlander late in the lost 2023 season.

Missing 2024 with Tommy John surgery and a disappointing 2025 have delayed the young phenom’s breakout. Now, let’s see if Dominguez can finally change his narrative and stay up in the majors for good.