Back in September, when the New York Yankees initially called up star prospect Jasson Dominguez, fellow left fielder Alex Verdugo accepted that he might lose playing time, but he was willing to do anything to make sure his team made the postseason. He was a professional, even though he wasn’t a fan of the move. That was the first and last time he spoke about the subject.
On Thursday, before a huge Game 4 of the AL Division Series against Kansas City, he offered more details about the Yankees decision to call up Dominguez back then. The two players split playing time, but it has been Verdugo the one with the most prominent role in the postseason.
“It was a trial for him I felt like. I kind of knew I was losing some time. Yeah, I was upset about it, but at the same time I felt like I needed to correct some things in my body”, the polarizing outfielder explaind, according to SNY.
Verdugo has helped the Yankees in the postseason
He said it himself: he had to know he was about to lose playing time, which is not surprising for anyone who followed the team. He ended the regular season with a .647 OPS and just 13 home runs in over 500 plate appearances. That, for a corner outfielder, is highly disappointing production.
The thing is that Dominguez himself didn’t exactly light the world on fire in his ‘trial,’ as Verdugo calls it. The top Yankees prospect returned a .617 OPS in 18 games. Yes, he is brimming with potential and was incredible in Triple-A, but he didn’t succeed in his small MLB sample.
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Even though his postseason OPS is .664, Verdugo is batting .300 in the three games the Yankees have played to this point. He has also made a couple of solid plays with the glove, plays that Dominguez likely wouldn’t have been able to complete. Right now, manager Aaron Boone is going with the veteran until the rookie gives him a reason to change his mind.