If New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman looks to the trade market to reinforce their pitching rotation, it would likely cost him a few valuable prospects. Having already traded away seven pitchers to acquire Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo, Cashman has already dipped a heavy hand into his prospect pool, so hanging onto some of his top guns may be advisable.
Of course, leveraging value now can be a good strategy, but the Yankees should consider taking three prominent players off the market, having invested heavily in their development and nearing their promotion to the MLB.
Three Prospects the Yankees Should Refuse to Trade
1.) Jasson Dominguez
First and foremost, the Yankees should simply remove Jasson Dominguez from any conversation that involves him in a trade.
At 20 years old, Dominguez displayed elite qualities over a small sample size of eight games last season. Before suffering an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery, Dominguez smashed four homers with seven RBIs and logged a 162 wRC+ over 33 plate appearances. One of those home runs came against future Hall of Fame pitcher Justin Verlander, showcasing Dominguez’s discipline at such a young age. He dominated at every Minor League stage, proving his ability to make the transition sooner rather than later.
Manager Aaron Boone recently stated that Dominguez is making great progress and should look relatively normal during spring training. His timetable for return isn’t until next summer, but the Yankees have him penciled into a starting outfield job once 2025 rolls around, and if the team manages to extend Juan Soto, their outfield could be special.
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2.) Spencer Jones
Another player of the Yankees are extremely high on and most MLB ranking systems have as the team’s number one prospect, 22-year-old Spencer Jones has a sky-high ceiling. The lefty slugger has extremely similar traits to Aaron Judge, but since he hits from the opposite side, he can take advantage of the short right porch in Yankee Stadium.
Jones struggled a bit with plate discipline this past season, but he is still early in his Minor League development. Over 100 games with High-A Hudson Valley, Jones hit .268/.337/.450, recording 13 homers, 56 RBIs, and 35 stolen bases.
Jones has elite athleticism for a 6’6″ player, improving his upside drastically. Jones also has the capacity to be a plus defender in the outfield, and the Yankees don’t want to trade him prematurely before seeing if he can become a superstar.
3.) Chase Hampton
Of the three players listed in this article, Chase Hampton seems the most likely to be moved if a deal were to come together. However, Hampton is 22 years old and could make his debut for the Yankees this upcoming season, if not in 2025.
Hampton has only one year of Minor League experience, pitching 47 innings with Hudson Valley and 59.2 innings in Double-A with Somerset. He posted a 2.68 ERA in High-A and a 4.37 ERA in Double-A, marking a difficult transition that did showcase some adversity.
However, Hampton has great stuff, containing multiple quality pitches that dance around the strike zone. While his fastball hovers in the mid-90s, he gets tremendous spin rate and movement, which bodes well for his future.
Once Hampton locks in and begins to adjust to an increase in talent, he should rise through the system quickly and help the Yankees out of the bullpen, if not compete for a starting job.