With Jasson Dominguez now back in the major leagues, the New York Yankees suddenly have a battle for the starting job in left field in the final two weeks of the regular season. Dominguez’s arrival is expected to cut into Alex Verdugo’s playing time, as the veteran outfielder has struggled mightily since getting off to a solid start this season.
Alex Verdugo acknowledged that Jasson Dominguez’s arrival may affect his playing time
Verdugo even acknowledged the possibility of losing playing time to Dominguez earlier this week but accepted that fate if it means the team wins more games:
“He’s going to come up here, he’s gonna play, he’s gonna help this team win,” Verdugo said about Dominguez via NJ.com’s Max Goodman. “Whatever that means, that means, right? If I lose a little bit of playing time, I lose a little bit of playing time. At the end of the day, I want to win. The only thing that matters is getting to the playoffs and winning there.”
The Yankees envision Dominguez being an everyday player
Dominguez is the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect in their farm system, so they would ideally like to get him on the field as much as possible to maximize his potential and have their best lineup for the playoffs. The switch-hitting rookie outfielder was notably absent from Wednesday’s lineup against the Kansas City Royals with a tough lefty in Cole Ragans on the mound. Verdugo got the start in left field and went 1-for-4.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone has made it clear that his intentions are to play Dominguez as frequently as possible, which could mean that he will be starting in left field for the postseason while Verdugo resorts to a bench role. However, this team is known for making surprises, so that is not a foregone conclusion at this time.
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The right move would be to play the promising rookie who has already shown he can make an immediate impact, but the Yankees have been reluctant to reduce Verdugo’s role all year. Even during his treacherous months-long slump at the plate, he was still penciled into the lineup almost every day, and the Yankees even avoided calling up Dominguez on the day the rosters expanded because of their faith in Verdugo.
New York also values the defensive qualities Verdugo brings in left field, which could factor into him receiving more playing time. However, the team needs to deepen a lineup that has mostly been carried by Aaron Judge and Juan Soto this season, and Dominguez is simply the better offensive option than Verdugo thanks to his tremendous upside and switch-hitting capabilities.
Dominguez will still need to earn his spot despite the high ceiling
Despite the better traits, Dominguez is still a rookie who has to earn his spot going forward. There’s little reason to believe he won’t make a name for himself, but if he does struggle down the final stretch of the season, Verdugo could still see the field a fair amount.
The Yankees’ hope is that Dominguez performs well and makes their decision for the playoffs significantly easier. New York has 16 games remaining on their schedule, and as the season winds down, the left field battle could heat up.
