The Yankees’ outfield picture is getting crowded in the corners, and that’s forcing a harder look at Jasson Dominguez than they seemed ready to give him a year ago.
Aaron Judge is locked into right field and Cody Bellinger is set in left, which leaves center field unsettled. Free agent Trent Grisham is not expected back, and Brian Cashman made it clear at this week’s General Managers meetings that Spencer Jones won’t simply be handed the job after a productive rookie season that still came with a strikeout rate that raised eyebrows.
“Spencer certainly earned the consideration to be counted on as we enter ’27, but I’ve got to measure that versus what’s available in the marketplace and how the rest of this roster shakes out,” Cashman said.
That naturally brings Dominguez into the conversation, and Cashman’s answer sounded like a front office still waiting for the switch-hitter to force the issue.
“If he pushes himself into the plans …” Cashman said.
Dominguez is still only 23, turning 24 on Feb. 7, but the former prized prospect has not yet become the impact player the Yankees once envisioned. Across 206 big-league games, he has hit .241 with 22 home runs, 72 RBI and a .698 OPS.
This season, he showed he could hit from the right side after earlier struggles there, but his work from the left side fell off badly. The defense remains a problem, even as the Yankees continue to say he is working and improving.
Dominguez spent all of 2025 with the Yankees, but this year he bounced between Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and the majors. He opened the season in Triple-A, returned to the Yankees by May after Giancarlo Stanton went on the injured list, then hurt his shoulder crashing into the left-field wall at Yankee Stadium while making a catch that was as brave as it was spectacular. By Aug. 4, he was back in the minors for good.
In 57 games with the Yankees, he hit .225 with six homers and 14 RBI. His defense never really settled in.
Outside of the play that injured him, he still struggled to read fly balls off the bat, had trouble handling caroms off the wall and owns only an average throwing arm. He also made three errors in right field and seven more in the minors.
“I want to improve the mental side,” Dominguez said in August. “I have to make better decisions. That’s one thing that I need to get better at.”
Cashman still sees the raw tools.
“Obviously, ’26 didn’t go as he expected,” Cashman said. “Then you look at the age and what the ceiling is, that’s all still there.”
Not everyone around the game is as convinced. Scouts told NJ.com this year that they think Dominguez could use a change of scenery. An offseason trade is possible, but the Yankees are not ready to walk away from the idea that he can still become at least a solid major league regular.
They also like that he chose to play winter ball back home in the Dominican Republic for a second straight offseason.
“He’s someone that I’m happy to see play winter ball,” Cashman said. “I didn’t talk to him at the end of the year about playing winter ball.
He stepped up on his own. I know (third base coach) Luis Rojas is talking to him and I’m glad he’s doing it.
I’m glad he has the hunger and the desire and the recognition that ‘with ’26 behind me, I need to find higher ground’ because he’s capable of it.”
Dominguez’s winter league season is already underway, and he has started well. Playing for the Aguilas Cibaenas, he is hitting .292 with four doubles, six RBI, seven walks and no strikeouts in 32 plate appearances through Wednesday. He has played three games in left field and two in right, and he has committed one error.
If that carries into spring training, he could still make the Opening Day roster as a fourth outfielder or as part of a platoon with Jones. In that scenario, the Yankees would likely use Dominguez in left and shift Bellinger to center.
That would come with a catch. Bellinger is only an average center fielder, but he is one of the best left fielders in the game and won both a Gold Glove and a Platinum Glove this year. Left field at Yankee Stadium is also a tough fit for Dominguez, who appears better suited to right.
“We’ll have to wait and see how it all shakes out, but, yeah, (Bellinger) can play center,” Cashman said.
Cashman also thinks Jones may be better off long term in a corner spot, even though center is his natural position.
The situation gets even messier if the Yankees bring in a veteran outfielder. Tyrone Taylor could fit as a fourth outfielder. And depending on how the roster develops, either Dominguez or Jones could end up in trade talks.
It is still November, so there is plenty of time for this to sort itself out, and maybe even more if the expected work stoppage on Dec. 1 pushes spring training back by weeks or months.
For now, the Yankees still believe Dominguez’s career can still take off if the tools finally match the work.
“Two years ago, Spencer Jones was maybe a distressed asset and now he’s not based on how he went about his business last winter to put himself in a much better position for 2026 to go the way it went,” Cashman said. “Right now, I’d say Domínguez is probably someone is on that same path where one step backwards helps. Hopefully it motivates you to take two steps forward.
“I think at least he’s fighting for it in winter ball right now.”
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