SARASOTA, Fla. — Jasson Domínguez’s first week of Grapefruit League games in left field this spring generated plenty of noise.
Since then?
Mostly crickets.
For Domínguez, that is a good thing as he has settled into the position and gone a long way in answering one of the biggest questions of the spring.
He still will have to prove himself over again once the regular season starts, but in five short weeks, Domínguez already feels much better about left field than he did at the start of camp.
“It’s a big difference,” Domínguez said Thursday. “It’s a big difference, for sure. The more games and reps there that I take, the more comfortable I feel.”
Jasson Dominguez fielding a ball during a workout at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida.Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The Yankees wanted Domínguez to earn the left field job this spring, and with just a few days left in camp, he has all but wrapped it up without much trouble.
The 22-year-old had some adventures in left during the first week of camp, when he lost a ball in the sun, took some inefficient routes and looked slightly uncomfortable on at least a few other balls.
There were questions about whether the Yankees should just have Domínguez return to his natural spot in center field and have Cody Bellinger play left, but the team wanted to give Domínguez a full runway in left before changing course if needed at the end of camp.
With Thursday marking a week from Opening Day, it does not appear that a late switch will be necessary.
Jasson Dominguez scores a run during the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at BayCare Ballpark.IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
“I’ve really been excited about his routes. [They] have been really good,” manager Aaron Boone said Thursday at Ed Smith Stadium before the Yankees played the Orioles. “He’s gotten to some balls that not a lot of people get to. Even a couple plays he hasn’t made, go back and look at them, they’re low-percentage plays that most people don’t even get there. He’s doing a really good job with that.
“His work’s been excellent. I like how he’s swinging the bat. Feel like his at-bats have been good. Want him to continue to make the routine play. I like the spring he’s had.”
The Yankees never really gave Domínguez a threat of someone else emerging as the left fielder — the only realistic alternative was Trent Grisham becoming a starter in center field and Bellinger moving to left full time — but the top prospect has been putting in the work daily with outfield coach Luis Rojas to get better.
Jasson Dominguez leaps for and misses a ball hit by Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Edmundo Sosa during the third inning at BayCare Ballpark.Dave Nelson-Imagn Images
“It’s every day — there’s no days off,” Domínguez said with a grin. “[Rojas] always makes sure we get that work in left field.”
The reality is that the Yankees do not need Domínguez to be a Gold Glover in left field.
Especially if his bat plays up to its potential, Domínguez just needs not to be a liability, like he was last September, when he essentially was trying to learn left field on the fly during a big league call-up to see if he was a better option than Alex Verdugo for the postseason (which he was not).
Jasson Dominguez catching a fly ball during a workout at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida.Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Domínguez also struggled offensively late last season, but the switch-hitter has looked sharp of late in that department.
He had a three-hit game Wednesday against the Phillies on balls that came off his bat at 108.8 mph, 107.8 mph and 105.7 mph and entered Thursday batting 12-for-34 (.353) with three home runs over his past 10 games.
And while Domínguez continues to play under the bright spotlight that has followed him since he signed as a 16-year-old from the Dominican Republic for $5.1 million, Boone believes he has handled it all well.
Aaron Boone gestures as he talks to players before a spring training baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Tampa, Fla.AP
“He’s comfortable in his skin,” Boone said. “Through a couple of mistakes last year, he owns it. He’s easy to talk to about it and coach about it. He expects a lot of himself, kind of quietly. He’s kind of got that easy smile and easy way about him, but he expects a lot of himself, too, as do we.”
