NEW YORK — For years, Jasson Dominguez was supposed to be the future of the Yankees’ outfield. The organization signed him out of the Dominican Republic as a 16-year-old phenom. They gave him the nickname “The Martian.” They watched him rocket through the minor leagues and light up the big leagues during a brief but electric debut in 2023.
Now, with spring training days away, the Yankees are on the verge of making a decision that would have seemed unthinkable just two years ago.
And it has nothing to do with an injury this time.
A crowded outfield with no room to spare
The Yankees spent aggressively this offseason to lock in their outfield. Cody Bellinger came back on a five-year, $162.5 million deal. Trent Grisham accepted the qualifying offer worth $22.025 million. Aaron Judge is, of course, Aaron Judge. And Giancarlo Stanton remains entrenched as the everyday designated hitter.
That leaves four spots filled before Dominguez even enters the conversation. The math is straightforward. Three outfield positions. One DH slot. Four players already slotted in. For a team built to win a championship in 2026, this is a luxury problem. For Dominguez, it is a roster crisis.
The Yankees have also been actively searching for a right-handed outfield bat on the free agent and trade markets. Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reported the club has been exploring options, with names like Austin Slater and Randal Grichuk drawing interest. Each potential addition would push Dominguez further down the depth chart.
The report that caught everyone off guard
On Thursday, MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post dropped the news that has been rattling through Yankees fandom all day. According to Heyman, Jasson Dominguez is likely to open the 2026 season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre rather than in the Bronx.
Even for those who saw the outfield crunch coming, this qualifies as a stunner. Dominguez played 107 games for the Yankees in 2025. He batted .257 with 10 home runs, 47 RBIs and 23 stolen bases across 381 at-bats. He posted a .719 OPS. Those are not elite numbers, but they are not minor league numbers either.
In his parts of three MLB seasons, Dominguez has compiled a .248 batting average, a .327 on-base percentage and a .724 OPS to go along with 16 home runs and 29 stolen bases in 34 attempts across 149 career games. He is a switch-hitter who is about to turn 23. On most MLB rosters, he would be penciled into the starting lineup.
But the Yankees are not most teams. And the front office apparently believes there is more to gain from sending him down than keeping him up.
Defense and platoon splits are the sticking points
The raw numbers only tell part of the story. Dominguez’s defense has been a persistent concern. He posted a fielding run value of minus-9 in 2025, according to Statcast, making him one of the worst defensive outfielders in baseball. His arm is strong. His athleticism is obvious. But his routes and reads in left field have not been consistent enough for a team chasing a title.
Then there are the platoon splits. Dominguez hit .274 with a .768 OPS against right-handed pitching in 2025. Against lefties, he dropped to .204 with a .569 OPS. Just one of his 10 home runs came off a left-handed pitcher. For a switch-hitter, that kind of gap is hard to ignore.
Bellinger, by contrast, crushed southpaws in 2025. He posted a 180 wRC+ and a .601 slugging percentage in those matchups, ranking among the top three qualified hitters in MLB. Grisham also showed more upside against left-handers than Dominguez did from the right side of the plate.
The Yankees’ thinking appears to be that Dominguez would benefit from playing every day at Triple-A. He could work on his defense. He could stack at-bats from the right side. He could develop without the pressure of a pennant race.
Boone has talked around it for weeks
Yankees manager Aaron Boone has not publicly confirmed the plan. But he has dropped hints throughout the offseason.
Back in October, when asked if he saw Dominguez as a starting outfielder in 2026, Boone said he “would expect him to be right in that mix.”
More recently, during an appearance on WFAN’s “The Carton Show,” Boone addressed the possibility of Dominguez moving to center field down the road.
“I view him more in the corner,” Boone said. “I’m not going to totally rule out center ever. Again, this is a young man that’s really, really athletic and twitchy and fast and has all the physical attributes.”
That sounds like a manager keeping doors open. It also sounds like someone who knows the player in question might not be on the Opening Day roster.
Boone also praised Dominguez’s character during the stretch run of 2025, when his playing time dwindled. He logged just 72 at-bats from Aug. 1 on as Bellinger, Grisham and Judge commanded the bulk of the outfield action.
“There’s a real consistency in who he is,” Boone said. “Down the stretch, he was ready to go every day. He was prepared every day, and just as important, he was the same person and teammate every day.”
The risk of sending him down
The development argument makes sense on paper. Dominguez is young. He has limited minor league experience because a torn UCL wiped out most of his 2023 and 2024 seasons. The Yankees believe regular at-bats in Scranton could accelerate his growth.
But there is a real danger in this approach. Dominguez was already productive at the big league level. Sending a player who hit .257 in the majors back to the minors is a message, whether the organization frames it that way or not. The Yankees will need to manage his confidence carefully.
There is also the trade angle. Multiple reports have indicated the Yankees are fielding interest in Dominguez. His switch-hitting ability, speed and age make him attractive to other clubs. If the front office determines he does not fit the 2026 roster, moving him for pitching depth or a more polished bat is a real possibility.
Spencer Jones, the Yankees’ No. 4 prospect who belted 35 home runs in the minors last season, is also lurking. General manager Brian Cashman acknowledged that Jones might have been called up late in 2025 if the outfield had not been so crowded. A Dominguez trade would clear a direct path for Jones.
Spring training will tell the full story
Pitchers and catchers report to Tampa on Feb. 11. Dominguez will be there. He spent part of the offseason playing winter ball with Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Winter League, looking to sharpen his right-handed swing and build momentum heading into camp.
But the landscape has changed. The Yankees committed over $55 million in outfield salary for 2026 before Dominguez’s name even entered the equation. The roster is built. The roles are assigned. And for a player who was once considered untouchable, the uncomfortable truth is that the Bronx might not have room for The Martian right now.
The decision is not official yet. Spring training could change things. An injury to Stanton or anyone else could open a door. But the direction is clear. And for the first time in Dominguez’s career, the path forward might run through Scranton before it leads back to Yankee Stadium.
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