With the New York Yankees’ season drawing to a close, two of their top prospects called up earlier this year have been bitten by the injury bug. Outfielder Jasson Dominguez already saw his season end prematurely with a UCL tear, for which he is undergoing Tommy John surgery on Wednesday, and fellow outfielder Everson Pereira is dealing with an injury as well.
Everson Pereira’s season could end on the IL
Pereira, the Yankees No. 3 prospect, has been dealing with a hamstring injury that has kept him out of the lineup since Sept. 14 against the Red Sox. Yankees manager Aaron Boone indicated that an IL stint is possible, which would likely end his season.
“He’s got a little hamstring going on,” said Boone on the Talkin’ Yanks Podcast. “Very low-grade, so we’re kind of in that boat now of ‘do we give it a couple more days, do we back-date and do a quick IL stint?’”
Boone added that he does think Pereira will play again for the Yankees this season, but is unsure of when that will be and that they are playing the injury day by day. The 22-year-old was struggling in his short time with New York, hitting just .143 with zero home runs in 70 at-bats.
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Injuries may force the Yankees to change their plans
The Yankees called up Dominguez and Pereira as part of a sweeping round of minor league call-ups to see what the organization has in them in preparation for potentially playing them full-time in 2024. However, these injuries could force the Yankees to change the course of how they address the outfield during the offseason, as Dominguez’s injury will keep him out for roughly half of next season and Pereira’s struggles could see him start next season in the minor leagues.
The Yankees were hoping to rely on the prospects to provide some good baseball to close out a disastrous season, but they will likely have to finish the season without two of their top prospects.
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