The New York Yankees‘ top-rated prospect (#12 overall by Bleacher Report) Jasson Dominquez is progressing nicely after undergoing an operation on September 10th, 2023, to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament—commonly known as Tommy John surgery.
That was 252 days ago (just over 8 months), a far cry from the old 12-18 month healing and rehab standard.
Dominguez, a 21-year-old from Esperanza in the Dominican Republic, had a rousing 23′ debut while depositing 4 over the boards in just 33 PAs, including a HR off Justin Verlander to kick off his MLB career.
Dominguez began hitting from the right box in late February and was taking reps from both sides by mid-March. He’s looked sharp in his first week of a rehab assignment serving as DH in Tampa, Florida.
If his first week is any indication, Jasson could be ready to roll sometime in June.
Jasson Domínguez is off to a great start rehabbing hitting .455 in three games 👀
Yankees Hot Start Complicates Matters
Despite losing reigning Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole and former batting champ and gold glover DJ LeMahieu, the Bronx Bombers are thriving. New York is currently flexing the best record in the American League at 32-15.
With Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Alex Verdugo holding down the outfield positions well (combined 6.0 fWAR), there’s no room for Dominguez.
He could easily push OF depth Trent Grisham aside, but naturally, the young potential star will need playing time; riding the bench isn’t a viable option. What about DH?
Giancarlo Stanton currently has a pretty solid grip on the spot. Although he’s putting up career-worst BB and K numbers (6.8% & 32.7%), his 11 HRs, .530 SLUG, and 139 wRC+ will keep his name on the lineup card.
It’ll take a long chilly streak or injury to sit Stanton and his $32 million payroll hit.
So, What’s Next for Jasson Dominquez?
As the slugging outfielder continues his comeback, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone shed some light on the game plan.
“Let’s just get out of his way right now and get him right and get him playing and get him the regular reps,” Boone said to the New York Post. “And then we’ll see where we are, hopefully in 10 days, two weeks from now, when we’re now getting him into the outfield and starting to really build him up.”
On how the process is going, Boone said,
“It seems like there’s been very few hiccups along the way. It’s been smooth, he hasn’t been rushed.”
If Dominguez keeps on trucking through the minors, what then?
“Hopefully it is a tough decision at that point, because good things are happening here,” Boone said. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
Should an unfortunate injury arise in the outfield, Dominguez could play center and move Judge to a corner position. Other than that, it’s not looking good for the immediate future.
Unfortunately for adoring fans of ‘The Martian”, they might have to wait for September 1st call-ups to see him with the big club.
But as Boone said, that only signifies things are going well in Yankee Nation.
