Spring Training usually offers little more than meaningless innings and overpriced beer, but this year in Tampa, the Yankees are serving up a genuine heavyweight fight. While the front office plays a high-stakes game of chicken with Cody Bellinger, a fierce position battle is brewing that could define the outfield’s future for the next decade.
On one side, you have the incumbent, Jasson Domínguez, trying to hold his ground. On the other, the physical freak of nature known as Spencer Jones is trying to force his way onto the roster. It is the kind of problem every GM dreams of having, but for Brian Cashman, choosing the wrong “fourth outfielder” could mean trading away a future star by mistake.
The Bellinger Domino Must Fall First
Before we even get to the kids, we have to address the elephant in the room. The Yankees are still heavily favored to reunite with Cody Bellinger, filling the left-field vacuum with a proven commodity. ESPN insider Jeff Passan recently confirmed that the organization is comfortable waiting out the market because of the internal talent they have stockpiled.
Passan wrote, “With (Spencer) Jones (and Jasson Dominguez), the Yankees have enough to field a representative outfield. And yet nobody would argue that they are a demonstrably better team with Cody Bellinger in pinstripes. Until his price drops, the Yankees don’t seem inclined to budge.”
The message is clear: Bellinger is Plan A, but the kids are the leverage that keeps the checkbook from exploding.
Domínguez Has the Hype, But Jones Has the Hammer
Jasson Domínguez finally got his extended look in 2025, and the results were a mixed bag of brilliance and frustration. “The Martian” flashed the tools that made him an international icon, swiping 23 bases and launching 10 home runs over 123 games.
However, his de facto rookie campaign exposed some ugly warts, particularly from the right side of the plate, where he looked completely lost against southpaws. Defensively, he posted a -9 Fielding Run Value, looking unsure of his routes and often misjudging balls that a major leaguer simply has to catch.
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Enter Spencer Jones, the 6-foot-7 “left-handed masher” who looks like he was built in a lab to destroy the short porch at Yankee Stadium. Jones is coming off a minor league season where he crushed 35 home runs and nearly joined the 30/30 club himself. He fits the Yankees’ mold like a glove—athletic, powerful, and capable of playing elite defense.
The only thing standing in his way is a swing-and-miss issue that borders on terrifying; Jones posted a whiff rate over 40% at times in the minors, a number that big-league pitchers will exploit ruthlessly if he hasn’t tightened up his mechanics this winter.
One Stays, One Goes?
This competition is about more than just who sits on the bench in April. With Trent Grisham locked in for one year on a qualifying offer, the winner of this battle is likely auditioning to be the starting center fielder in 2027. The loser? They become the tantalizing trade chip Cashman uses to acquire the pitching help this team always seems to need. Jones has been working diligently all offseason to cut down the strikeouts, and if he shows up to Tampa making consistent contact, Domínguez might find himself looking over his shoulder—or at a new address entirely.
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