New York Yankees fans were left both confused and livid on Sunday over a bizarre roster decision.
The Yankees did not promote top prospect Jasson Dominguez on Sunday when rosters expanded, a move that befuddled fans and beat writers alike. The 21-year-old outfielder is hitting .306 with five home runs in 37 games at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre this season.
The consensus is that Dominguez is ready to contribute at the MLB level. That is especially true compared with starting outfielder Alex Verdugo, who is hitting just .232 on the year and has developed into a source of frustration for Yankee fans.
Sure enough, fans and writers alike questioned the decision almost immediately, especially when they team instead chose to bring up lesser players like Duke Ellis, who specializes as a pinch-runner.
The Yankees talk a lot about having a “championship caliber roster.” Each day that goes by with Jasson Domínguez in the minors, they don’t have their best 28 players in the big leagues.
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) September 1, 2024
I’ve never seen a team show such loyalty to a pure rental who has mostly been bad like the 2024 Yankees with Alex Verdugo.
That is why the pinch-runner specialist Ellis is up instead of Jasson Domínguez. Ridiculous. https://t.co/en9Eok7HFK— Pinstripe Alley (@pinstripealley) September 1, 2024
The Yankees decided that Alex Verdugo is a better option than Jasson Dominguez in left field.
That tells me all I need to know about how dumb this organization is.
— Yankees Focus (@YankeesFocus) September 1, 2024
The Yankees embarrassed themselves today by not calling up Jasson Dominguez.
Stupid. pic.twitter.com/DA6NrJfcAF
— 4 Train Savages (@FourSavages) September 1, 2024
If the Yankees didn't have a firm plan to play Dominguez in September, why didn't they get an outfielder? There is zero excuse on planet Earth for not having a contingency plan for how awful Alex Verdugo was by the deadline.
— Ryan Garcia (@RyanGarciaESM) September 1, 2024
Manager Aaron Boone said when asked about the decision that the Yankees wanted Dominguez playing every day, and there is no path for him to do that at the MLB level right now.
“When he comes up here you’re gonna want to play him everyday… It’s important for him to continue to play right now.” -Aaron Boone on Jasson Dominguez pic.twitter.com/2Oqw3p3xJa
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 1, 2024
“Certainly in the conversation. Will remain in the conversation moving forward,” Boone said. “When he comes up here, you’re going to want to play him every day. He’ll continue to remain in that conversation.”
That is understandable, but most would argue that Verdugo has not done enough to justify keeping his spot in the lineup. To be clear, the Yankees could still call Dominguez up once the minor league season ends, but it’s very clear they don’t see him as a starter right now.
Yankee fan frustration has been growing for weeks, even though the team is poised to go to the playoffs. Part of that is due to a perception that they simply have not been as aggressive as they could have been in terms of trying to build the best team possible, especially with Juan Soto and Aaron Judge having such outstanding seasons.
