It is officially the beginning of a new era for the New York Yankees, as the 2nd edition of the Baby Bombers look to become key contributors to the team instantly.
Yankees add two young talents to their lineup
After calling up Everson Pereira a few weeks ago, the Yankees called up two more rookies for Friday’s game against the Houston Astros: Jasson Dominguez and Austin Wells.
Pereira has gotten off to a slow start to his MLB career, but currently boasts a 60.9% hard-hit rate, showing that the quality of contact is there despite the subpar results.
Dominguez, 20, and Wells, 24, both left a great first impression in their debuts Friday. Dominguez deposited a home run into the Crawford Boxes in his first MLB at-bat, and Wells followed up with a single to right-center in his first at-bat, both hits coming off of future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander.
“You can’t help but notice [Dominguez’s] skills anytime you get to see him in person,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the game to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. “Look, it’s one game, but you get a peek tonight why a lot of us are excited about him.”
- Yankees could turn to familiar face in reunion with relief arm
- Yankees cross $301 million tax threshold, indicating a potential salary dump trade
- Yankees overhauled one critical element in the outfield
Projecting the Yankees’ future lineup
The Yankees called up the young prospects after releasing Josh Donaldson and placing Harrison Bader on waivers earlier this week. Now the Yankees could likely feature an Opening Day lineup next season with Wells behind the plate and Dominguez and Pereira in the outfield.
It has been a lost season for New York, as they currently sit 9.5 games out of the Wild Card race and, barring a miracle late-season run, will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016, the same year they started the first edition of the Baby Bombers era by calling up Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez.
Watching the newcomers play alongside fellow rookies Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza signals a new approach for the Yankees going forward, as they are depending on their prospects to get them back into the competitive landscape.
It should be exciting to see how the youngsters develop as they get their first taste of MLB action in this final month of the regular season, and could potentially become important pieces to next year’s team as well.
Follow this writer on X/Twitter: @DylanBacker_
