The Yankees are running into a problem they probably didn’t want this close to the deadline: Jasson Domínguez’s trade value is sliding fast, and Spencer Jones is the one making the stronger case right now.
That matters because New York would love to have both young outfielders contributing, but the two are moving in opposite directions. Jones has been on a torrid streak lately and looks more like the kind of player teams want when they’re hunting for young, controllable talent. He brings offense and dependable defense, the sort of package that plays well in a trade conversation.
Domínguez, meanwhile, has been stuck in a rough season. He’s not producing enough at the plate, and he’s not standing out in the field either.
An ugly baserunning play this week only added to the pile of issues. The Yankees entered the year with big expectations for the 23-year-old, but he hasn’t done enough at the major league level to make his spot feel secure.
Injuries are the main reason he’s still in the lineup most days.
And the problem for New York is that they can’t even shield him by sending him to Triple-A. If the roster were healthier, it’s easy to imagine the Yankees eventually flipping Domínguez and Jones. Right now, though, Domínguez is the one getting exposed.
The numbers tell the story. Domínguez is hitting .229/.271/.383, a line that’s tough to sell to any team looking for help.
Jones, by comparison, is hitting .236/.327/.416 in 37 games. The raw production already favors Jones, but the deeper metrics make the gap even wider.
Jones owns a 95.6 MPH average exit velocity and a 64.6% hard hit rate, both of which would sit at or above the 95th percentile if he were a qualified hitter. He also has a 10.2% barrel rate, which is solid.
Domínguez’s underlying numbers are much weaker: an 88.2 MPH average exit velocity, a 39.6% hard hit rate, and a 4.9% barrel rate. That combination is a bigger problem than the slash line alone.
So if a club like the Los Angeles Angels or the New York Mets is looking at both players, Jones is the easier bet. Domínguez is losing value, and Brian Cashman may not be thrilled with the offers he’s seeing. At this point, his age is the main thing he has going for him.
That leaves the Yankees in a spot where they may have to accept less than they originally hoped for. For a player who once impressed the baseball world with his raw tools as a teenager, that’s a steep turn.
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