BRONX, N.Y. — When the Yankees sent Jasson Dominguez to Triple-A Scranton on the final day of spring training, they made a roster decision that drew sharp criticism. Dominguez had hit .325 with a .978 OPS, three home runs and 10 RBI in 14 Grapefruit League games. He was 23 years old and entering his second full professional season.
The player who took his spot was Randal Grichuk. At the time, the Yankees’ rationale was clear: they needed a right-handed bat capable of punishing left-handed pitching, and Grichuk’s career .819 OPS against southpaws made him the logical fit. Dominguez could develop every day in Scranton. Grichuk would handle the matchup platoon role.
About a month into the season, neither side of that calculation has worked out. And Anthony Volpe is coming back from injury.
The Grichuk experiment has not delivered
Grichuk was signed on a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training and had his contract selected when Dominguez was sent down. His salary for 2026 is $2.5 million. The original purpose was narrow: face lefties, make hard contact, contribute in a part-time role.
The problem is the Yankees barely saw a left-handed starter in the first 11 games of the season. San Francisco’s Robbie Ray was the only one in that stretch. Grichuk spent weeks on the bench without regular at-bats, then was asked to produce when opportunities finally appeared. The results have been difficult to defend.
In limited playing time, Grichuk has gone 2-for-20 with two doubles, one walk and eight strikeouts. His 36.4 percent strikeout rate in the early going is a problem for a player with a defined purpose. He did not start Sunday against Kansas City left-hander Cole Ragans, the exact type of matchup the Yankees signed him to handle.
He knows it too. Asked about his situation before the Yankees swept the Royals, Grichuk did not hide from the pressure.
“That’s the frustrating part of being in the situation I am,” Grichuk said.
There is one number inside the poor line that keeps the conversation from being entirely closed. Among 406 hitters with at least 10 plate appearances entering this week, Grichuk’s 61.5 percent hard-hit rate ranked 12th. His 30.8 percent barrel rate ranked third, just behind Aaron Judge at 27.5 percent in fourth. The contact quality has been there. The contact frequency has not.
The main news: Volpe’s return forces the issue
Anthony Volpe, the Yankees’ starting shortstop, played last week for Double-A Somerset after recovering from a hamstring injury. He moves to Triple-A Scranton this week. He could be ready to return to the active roster as early as this weekend.
When Volpe comes back, the Yankees need a roster spot. The team has been working through which player moves in which direction. The options are limited and the logic points in one direction.
J.C. Escarra could be optioned, but that would require the Yankees to feel comfortable with Ben Rice as a backup catcher. Rice has not caught an inning this season, though he has remained active in bullpen sessions and live batting practice. The organization appears hesitant to test that option in a real game.
Jose Caballero is effectively off the table. He provides reliable shortstop depth behind Volpe and serves as a genuine late-game base-running threat. The Yankees are not moving him.
Paul Goldschmidt, who has seen his role shrink as Rice takes more at-bats at first base against lefties, is unlikely to be moved this early in the season.
That leaves Grichuk. He acknowledged the math when asked directly about Volpe’s imminent return.
“With Volpe coming back, it’s something you think about,” he said. “You’re not not thinking about it. You just got to hope that, if it doesn’t all work out here, somebody else is interested due to the fact that they see the underlying stuff, not the baseball-card numbers.”
What this means for Dominguez
The decision to open the season with Grichuk over Dominguez was never popular in the Yankees fan base. Dominguez had logged 123 major league games in 2025 and posted a .978 OPS in spring training. The organizational rationale was that he would benefit from regular at-bats in Triple-A rather than sitting on a major league bench. But that framing always carried a built-in expiration date.
Dominguez is at Scranton right now, presumably hitting and logging the everyday reps the Yankees said he needed. When Volpe returns and the roster opens, Dominguez becomes the natural recall candidate. He turns 24 in February 2027. He is out of options. And the player who displaced him is hitting .100.
Grichuk said he loves everything about being a Yankee, from the coaching staff and analytics operation to the clubhouse environment built around Aaron Judge. He is not lobbying for a departure. He is lobbying for a chance to hit.
“I feel like I’m swinging it well — could be swinging it better,” he said. “No one cares. You need to produce.”
He is right about that. And if Volpe is cleared to return this weekend, Grichuk may not get many more chances to prove it.
What do you think? Who should the Yankees demote to call back Dominguez?
