The New York Yankees will take the field on Saturday against the winner of the Baltimore Orioles – Kansas City Royals Wild Card matchup. The time to make decisions, however, is now.
They need to decide who makes the roster, who will be the three starters for the AL Division Series, who will start at first base, and who will get the nod in left field.
Speaking of left field, the battle for playing time between Alex Verdugo and Jasson Dominguez is still very much a thing.
There are concerns about the ‘Martian’ and his ability to cover the spacious left field in Yankee Stadium, particularly after a couple of plays in the last week of the regular season.
On the other hand, the team, especially the fans, have grown frustrated with Verdugo’s lack of offensive production. It is not a recent problem: in 559 at-bats, he has returned a .233 batting average, 13 home runs, 61 RBI, and a horrible .647 OPS. He is also 3-for-21 in his last seven games.
What should the Yankees do about left field?
Yankees manager Aaron Boone is still undecided about who will be the starter at the position. There is also a chance he goes with a 50-50 timeshare or plays the matchups. At least for Game 1, nothing is set in stone.
“The Yankees haven’t decided who will start in LF for Game 1. Aaron Boone said of Jasson Domínguez: “Whatever way we go, he’s going to play a big part,” Yankees insider Bryan Hoch posted on X, quoting the skipper.
In reality, Dominguez hasn’t done much to separate himself from Verdugo because he has a disappointing .617 OPS in 56 at-bats in 2024. However, Verdugo has gotten 500+ trips to the plate and has failed to even return league-average production. With the top prospect, the upside is monstrous, and that matters.
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In fact, in this case, Dominguez’s potential should land him the everyday job. There is no upside in giving more at-bats to Verdugo at this point, and the Yankees know it.