OUT OF THIS WORLD!
Yanks send Jasson back to minor-league camp, but The Martian’s spring performance opens Boone’s eyes
LAKELAND — The Yankees reassigned Jasson Dominguez to the minor league camp on Thursday, but Aaron Boone doesn’t foresee more demotions in the outfielder’s future.
“I told him I don’t plan on sending him down very often moving forward,” the skipper said Friday, recalling a conversation he had with the Yankees’ No. 2 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, the previous night. Boone also told Dominguez to keep building on what’s been a year of significant progress.
Boone added that the plan is to move Dominguez around the outfield, which could theoretically expedite his big league arrival — depending on the Yankees’ roster needs in the coming months. Dominguez has exclusively played center field since his pro career began.
Dominguez enjoyed his first big league camp this spring, hitting .455 with a 1.565 OPS, four home runs, nine RBI and a stolen base. Still just 20 years old, “The Martian” made a strong impression on Boone.
“He’s probably a lot closer now and certainly on our radar with how the last 12 months have gone,” the manager said before the Yankees’ spring training game against the Tigers in Lakeland, Fla. “He performed really well. Now, the work doesn’t end. Make sure your focus is on going down there and getting after it and continue to get a little bit better at all the small things, because I think we all believe he can be impactful up here.”
Signed to a franchise-record-setting $5.1 million signing bonus as a 16-year-old in 2019, the Dominican-born Dominguez didn’t make his organizational debut until 2021 after the pandemic canceled the minor league season in 2020. He provided mixed results over 57 games between Rookie ball and Single-A (50 games at Single-A), slashing .252/.353/.379 with five longballs, 19 RBI and nine swipes.
Last season offered a clearer glimpse of what made Dominguez a coveted international prospect, as he hit .273/.376/.461 with seven triples, 16 homers, 59 RBI and 37 stolen bases over 120 games at Single-A, High-A and Double-A. Dominguez struggled over a brief five-game regular-season stint at Double-A (.105/.227/.368 with one HR), but he thrived over just as many playoff games for Somerset, logging a .450 average while adding three homers and 10 RBI.
Now the question is when Dominguez will land in the Bronx, though he’s yet to play at Triple-A. Boone said that where Dominguez begins the minor league season is up to New York’s player development personnel, though the expectation is that he’ll return to Double-A.
“[I’m] excited to see where this year takes him,” Boone continued, “and who knows where it ends up.”