TAMPA, Fla. – An airtight Yankees outfield left no room for Jasson Domínguez to begin the season on the Opening Day roster, a scenario that the switch-hitting outfielder said he understood when he reported to camp.
That decision was made before Friday night’s 3-1 Grapefruit League victory over the Orioles, when Domínguez was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“Like I said before Spring Training started,” Domínguez said recently, “I just go day by day, trying to do my job. At the end of the day, whatever decision comes out, I don’t control that. I just try to go day by day and see what happens.”
The 23-year-old did everything he could to force the issue, batting .325 (13-for-40) with two doubles, three homers, 10 RBIs and three stolen bases in 14 games.
“One of the things I told him is that I’m proud of him,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He walked into this camp with all kinds of conversation around him. It didn’t affect anything in the way he carried himself, day in, day out, the way he worked.”
Still, the Yankees’ offseason moves pointed toward a return to the Minors. Domínguez played sparingly in the second half last season, bumped from his starting role in left field as Trent Grisham enjoyed a year filled with career-best offensive performances.
“You want him playing regularly,” Boone said, “and that’s ultimately what it comes down to.”
General manager Brian Cashman said earlier this spring that he “would concede it’s in [Domínguez’s] best interest to be getting everyday reps.”
Those were tough to guarantee in the Bronx, especially once the Yankees extended a $22.025 million qualifying offer to Grisham in November.
There was talk that Domínguez might compete with Spencer Jones for reps in left field, but then Cody Bellinger re-signed with the club in January, a five-year deal worth $162.5 million.
Aaron Judge is coming off his third MVP season in the past four years, Giancarlo Stanton is set to begin the year in the designated hitter role and the Yanks are leaning toward carrying Randal Grichuk as a bench outfielder based upon his track record against left-handed pitching.
Boone said the demotion of Domínguez does “not necessarily” indicate Grichuk will be on the roster. Grichuk signed a Minor League contract in late February and has two hits in 16 spring at-bats (.125).
“We’re still kind of working through that,” Boone said.
Boone has said he believes Domínguez will factor into the Major League picture this season. Domínguez slashed .257/.331/.388 with 10 homers, 47 RBIs and 23 stolen bases in 123 games in 2025.
“As talented a player as he is right now, there’s still so much more for him to get to,” Boone said. “It’s a crazy game. He could be back before you know it. And the one thing I do think is, he’ll impact our club in a way this year.”
In additional roster moves, the Yankees optioned right-handers Kervin Castro and Yerry de los Santos to Triple-A. Catcher Ali Sánchez, catcher Payton Henry and outfielder Kenedy Corona were re-assigned to Minor League camp.