With the Yankees’ pursuit of Juan Soto ongoing, there’s a chance the team will spend a good chunk of its financial resources for the 2025 season on one player. To help offset costs, they could look internally for low-cost talent to help their roster, and Jack Curry of YES Network named two prospects who may find themselves on the Opening Day roster in 2025. Top prospect Jasson Dominguez and versatile infielder Caleb Durbin could be in the mix for starting jobs in 2025, as the Yankees look to use their financial capital to address other positions of need.
Ranging from the pitching staff to other spots in the lineup, by starting one or both of these players they could keep costs low at multiple positions and hone in on big-time upgrades elsewhere.
Jasson Dominguez and Caleb Durbin Could Enable Yankees to Make Other Upgrades
While Major League Baseball doesn’t have a salary cap, the Luxury Tax is enough of a deterrent for teams to spend under a certain amount as they want to avoid massive payments from the various harsh tax penalties. If the Yankees end up signing Juan Soto, it will be for record-setting money that likely would limit their remaining payroll flexibility, and that’s where both Jasson Dominguez and Caleb Durbin come in.
Dominguez, a switch-hitting outfield phenom who has long awaited the chance to take over in the outfield, has the tools to become a star at the big-league level. A powerful swing that can project for 20-25 home runs a season with the contact rates and plate discipline to hit for average and draw walks at a high clip is a dream skillset offensively, but many would expect an adjustment period at the plate because of his youth and inexperience.
Questions about his defense in left field are also valid considering how lost he looked out there last season, but perhaps the Yankees can do more work with him to acclimate him to the weird dimensions in the Bronx. As for Durbin, he may not have the same upside or hype, but he brings a scrappy defense-first profile that could solve their needs at second base.
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Caleb Durbin was named to the Arizona Fall League All-Star Game after an excellent 2024 campaign, setting a new stolen-base record for a single season while displaying improved game power. There are concerns that his bat won’t translate to the Major Leagues the way some would hoped, with some pointing out bat path issues and others pointing out the bottom-of-the-barrel raw power that limits his offensive output.
That being said, the ability to pull the ball in the air consistently and run elite contact rates is intriguing, and perhaps his rapid progression with the Yankees is an indication that he can continue to adapt and adjust. Health is another question mark for Durbin, who has missed extensive time in both 2023 and 2024 with various injuries, some of which aren’t entirely his fault such as the hit-by-pitch he suffered mid-season.
His glove and speed are plus tools and the Yankees would be improving over what they had in Gleyber Torres in that department, but how much of a drop-off they get offensively remains to be seen. Between Triple-A and the Arizona Fall League, Caleb Durbin had an .893 OPS with 15 home runs, 58 stolen bases, and just 43 strikeouts in 106 games.