Top prospect Dominguez near return
That object in the rearview mirror closer than it appears is Jasson Dominguez. Fewer than five weeks after the Yankees said it would be “up to eight weeks” until the outfielder was playing in games again because of a “significant” oblique strain, Dominguez is headed to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and could return to action there “within the week,” according to manager Aaron Boone.
That suddenly makes him an intriguing option for the Yankees much sooner than expected, assuming he responds well when he continues his buildup this week at SWB before getting into games.
“Whenever he starts playing [games], he’s available,” Boone said Tuesday before the Subway Series at Yankee Stadium. “He’s very close.”
Dominguez has not played in a game since June 15, when he strained his oblique on a check swing at Triple-A. Five days later, Boone gave him an eight-week timeline. But Dominguez has been ramping up at the club’s minor league complex in Tampa, including facing rehabbing reliever Nick Burdi in live batting practice on Monday.
And the Yankees are not putting any set number on how many games or at-bats the 21-year-old needs to take at Triple-A before they would potentially feel comfortable calling him up.
“When the need arises, he’s in play,” Boone said. Some may argue there is already a need, even with Giancarlo Stanton on his way back on a similar timetable, though that could slightly complicate things. If he had been healthy, Dominguez would have been the obvious replacement for Stanton when the slugger strained his hamstring on June 22.
Now, as Dominguez is close to becoming an option, Stanton is close to finishing off his own buildup, with a decision expected by this weekend on whether he needs a rehab assignment or not.
But even if Stanton returns by next week to his regular spot at DH, the Yankees could also potentially find room for the switch-hitting Dominguez in the outfield.
Dominguez provided an instant spark last September when the Yankees called him up, batting .258 with four home runs and a .980 OPS in eight games before suffering a torn UCL that required Tommy John surgery.