Can a Jasson Dominguez Promotion Spark the Yankees’ Offense?

With rosters expanding in September, the Yankees are considering turning to the Martian's bat.

Sep 6, 2023; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Jasson Dominguez (89) at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

On the eve of the September 1st roster expansion for MLB, could the Yankees turn to their star prospect for a final push?

With just 26 games left in September, the Yankees find themselves in a heated race for the AL East division crown. New York is currently 1.5 games up on the Baltimore Orioles with the league’s tenth-most difficult remaining schedule ahead of them, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. On the other hand, the Orioles have the second-easiest September schedule, which includes three-game sets against the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox. New York and Baltimore will face off once in late September for a key series at Yankee Stadium.

What was evident in the most recent series loss against the Washington Nationals was the Yankees' inability to drum up offense against left-handed pitching. Even with Gleyber Torres, Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton leading them off, the Yankees mustered just four earned runs in 14 innings against Mitchell Parker, Patrick Corbin, and Mackenzie Gore. As a team, the Yankees have a .720 OPS against lefties compared to a .797 mark against righties.

Enter The Martian. Jasson Dominguez has been kept mostly in the minors this year aside from a single game on August 18th against the Detroit Tigers; he was slotted fifth in the order behind Judge and Stanton. The 21-year-old hard-hitting Dominican has put up monster numbers over the past couple of weeks at Triple-A, and is now slashing .293/.349/.443 over a 35-game sample size. He also has four home runs and 14 stolen bases over that time. 

Dominguez might not be the immediate answer against left-handed pitching, but he’s mashed righties to the tune of a .929 OPS this year. Either way, he would certainly be an upgrade over the likes of Alex Verdugo or Trent Grisham. Verdugo has the second-most at-bats on the team but the lowest OPS among starters who have played at least 90 games,

Manager Aaron Boone spoke to reporters on Friday and when asked about Dominguez, he was non-committal.

“I don’t know. We’ll see. We haven’t made that decision, so I don’t know,” Boone said.

The Yankees do have a few things to take into consideration; according to MLB's Bryan Hoch, Dominguez only has 95 at-bats remaining before he loses his rookie status. If Dominguez maintains his status this season and wins Rookie of the Year in 2025, the Yankees would receive a draft pick after the first round in 2026.