New York Yankees not ruling out calling up top talent

After deciding not to call up their top prospects when rosters expanded on Sept. 1, the New York Yankees have not ruled out adding Jasson Dominguez to help the team during the final month of the regular season.

Manager Aaron Boone spoke to reporters Monday and left open the possibility that Dominguez could still join the Yankees. Many fans were shocked and even outraged that the 21-year-old player was not called up to the Bronx Bombers in September.

“It’s still very much in play,” Boone said. “Just because it didn’t happen on Sept. 1 doesn’t mean it won’t happen at some point. … That presents some tough decisions for a guy who hasn’t played much at the Triple-A level, let alone a week in the big leagues last season.

“Honestly, there’s probably nobody who rates Jasson Dominguez higher than me. I think he’s going to be a great player in this league. I like the makeup, I like the person. All I can say is he’s very much in the mix right now, but we’re not ready to take that step yet.”

Dominguez made his major league debut as a September call-up to the Yankees last season and showed promise. In eight games, “the Martian” hit .258 with a .980 OPS, four home runs and seven RBIs in 31 plate appearances.

However, nine days after his promotion, it was revealed that he had a torn UCL in his elbow, which required Tommy John surgery. This kept him out of the game until mid-May 2024, when he would begin a rehabilitation assignment. The Yankees activated the outfielder from the 60-day IL on June 12, but he was shelved again on June 16 with an oblique strain.

Due to missing significant time with injuries over the past year, Dominguez has appeared in only one major league game for New York this season. It was on August 18 when he was selected as the 27th man for the Little League Classic against the Detroit Tigers, but went 0-4 with three strikeouts. He was ejected after the game.

However, the outfielder has performed in Triple-A for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, posting a .298 batting average with an OPS of .811, five home runs and 18 RBIs in 151 plate appearances.

While Dominguez is a natural center fielder, he has been playing in Triple-A left field in preparation for replacing Alex Verdugo at the big league level. That said, the Yankees aren’t ready to bench Verdugo for Dominguez, which is a big reason they haven’t yet promoted their No. 1 prospect.

With the Yankees now holding a slim half-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the American League East, Dominguez’s bat may be needed in the Yankees’ lineup to help them clinch a division title. For now, he’ll remain in the minors, but New York isn’t ruling him out of the possibility of calling him up in the near future.