Alexander Wilson
The New York Yankees have already reassigned Spencer Jones to minor league camp, but 23-year-old switch-hitter Jasson Dominguez has stuck around. That doesn’t guarantee a roster spot. It means the Yankees are giving him every opportunity to fix the glaring weakness that turned him into a platoon bat in 2025.
Dominguez knows where he’ll probably start the season. Triple-A Scranton will allow him everyday at-bats to work on his offensive game from the right side, where he’s been nearly helpless against left-handed pitching.
The 2025 numbers tell the story. Against righties from his natural left side, Dominguez hit .274 with a .768 OPS, nine homers, and 39 RBIs across 325 plate appearances. Against lefties as a right-handed batter, he collapsed: .204 with a .569 OPS in 104 plate appearances.
Here’s what makes it more interesting: Dominguez is a natural righty. That he’s struggled more from his dominant hand suggests the issue is mechanical, not talent-based. And on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies, he made a subtle but significant change that could unlock everything.
The Leg Kick Adjustment That Matters
Against Phillies left-hander Tanner Banks, Dominguez deposited a four-seam fastball 388 feet over the left-field wall. The home run itself wasn’t surprising. What mattered was how he got there.
He changed his batting stance, taking a small step forward rather than the large leg kick he displayed throughout 2025. That’s a fundamental change to his timing mechanism and swing path.
The large leg kick creates rhythm and power, but it also introduces moving parts that must sync perfectly. Against major league lefties, Dominguez was consistently late getting his foot down, leaving him vulnerable to fastballs inside and unable to catch up to velocity. The big kick also made it harder to stay balanced.
The smaller step forward simplifies everything. It gets his foot down quicker, allowing him to see the ball longer and react to location. It keeps his weight centered over his back leg, giving him more time to recognize breaking stuff. And it reduces the margin for error in his timing.
“Just trying to try something new,” DomÃnguez said after the 4-2 win over the Phillies at BayCare Ballpark, according to the New York Post. “When you’re doing bad, you’re already at the bottom.”
That mindset is exactly what the Yankees want. Dominguez isn’t making excuses. He’s attacking the problem, even if it requires scrapping a year’s worth of muscle memory.
Boone Sees The Long-Term Upside
Manager Aaron Boone has been cautiously optimistic about Dominguez’s progress from the right side, and the stance adjustment gives him more reason to believe.
“He still controls the zone from that side. It’s just continuing to get reps from that side,” Boone said of DomÃnguez, who overall is having a nice spring, going 10-for-30 with two homers, two steals and a .944 OPS, according to the New York Post. “I feel like this spring, he’s hit some balls hard for outs from that side of the plate as well.
“He’s still a better left-handed hitter, but there’s no reason to think that over time, the right side can’t come up because he’s got power on that side, he’s got plate discipline, it’s just a matter of continuing to gain experience.”
That last line is critical: experience. Dominguez lost significant development time to injuries and COVID-19, and the biggest casualty was right-handed at-bats. Young players don’t face enough left-handed pitching in the minors to develop that side naturally. The Yankees estimate he entered 2025 with just 25 major league at-bats against lefties in his career.
You can’t fix platoon splits without volume. With Judge, Bellinger, and Grisham locked into the outfield, Dominguez would be relegated to a bench role with occasional spot starts. Triple-A Scranton gives him daily reps against left-handed pitching multiple times a week without the pressure of needing to produce immediately. If the work pays off, the Yankees have a switch-hitting outfielder with power and speed ready to contribute.
Defense Still Needs Work But Progress Is Real
Dominguez’s defensive struggles in left field were concerning in 2025. His routes were inconsistent and his reads off the bat were slow, finishing with -9 Outs Above Average. But there’s light at the end of the tunnel. He has elite arm strength and plus speed. The issues are technical, not physical.
The Yankees aren’t rushing him. If Dominguez starts the season in Scranton, it’s not a demotion. It’s an investment in his long-term future. The stance adjustment gives him a real chance to fix the right-handed hitting. The everyday at-bats give him the volume to make it stick.
The 388-foot home run off Tanner Banks was just one swing, but the mechanical change behind it could be the difference between platoon bat and everyday star.
More about:New York Yankees
