May 8: The Yankees officially announced the reinstatement of Jones and the placement of Dominguez on the 10-day IL. New York also remembered well Kervin Castro from Triple-A and a righty pick Brendan Beck in his place. Beck made his MLB debut yesterday, throwing three innings of long relief in a bullpen game. He would be out for a few days after throwing 52 pitches, so he will return to Triple-A while Castro comes in to provide a new arm.
May 7: The Yankees will call up outside prospects Spencer JonesFranchys Romero of BeisbolFR reports. That will be a complementary step for your outfield partner Jason Domínguez Let’s look at the injured list.
Domínguez left today’s game after crashing into the wall for the catch. He was examined by medical staff for a short time before being taken off the field. After the game, the manager Aaron Boone told reporters that Domínguez will head to the injured list and will miss several weeks. So far he has tested positive for seizures but has low grade AC in his left shoulder. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com was among those to relay an update from Boone.
Domínguez’s postponement is unfortunate. He entered this season without a good track record of playing on time. The Yanks had an outfield that included Aaron is the judge, Cody Bellinger again Trent Grisham. The designated call center was filled by Giancarlo Stanton. Moving Bellinger to first base was not an option Ben Rice again Paul Goldschmidt sharing that place.
Domínguez was called up about two weeks ago when Stanton was sidelined with a calf strain, opening the at-bats. Rice also missed the last four games with a sprained hand. Although Rice was not expected to hit IL, that also eased the clog that had been blocking Domínguez. Now Domínguez himself will be sidelined so he won’t be able to take advantage of the opening. Maybe we’ll still have time to play him when he comes back but that will depend on how long he’s been out and what’s going on with the other guys at the moment.
With Domínguez set to join Stanton in the IL, the Yankees will use that as an opportunity to look at Jones, who is a breakout prospect. The power is undeniable but it also comes with major strike concerns. He hit 35 home runs in the minors last year and has 11 more this season, but by big hitters. He was struck out in 35.4% of his plate appearances last year, between Double-A and Triple-A. He lowered that this year, but reached a still-high clip of 32.4%.
He’s still productive in the minors, even with all those punchouts. He has a .269/.350/.567 line and a 135 wRC+ in his Triple-A career, which is 35% better than league average, despite hitting at a 35.2% clip overall. It’s hard to be successful when he gets a lot and he’s likely to hit more in the majors, where the pitching is much better than in Triple-A. Last year, no professional hitter hit more than that Ryan McMahon and his 32.3% velocity.
As mentioned, it is a distinguishing profile. He was a consensus top 100 player heading into 2024 but no longer appears on that list. Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs ranked him #6 in the program, while The Athletic ranked him #7 and ESPN #5. Jones can steal bases and is considered an adequate defender, certainly in the corners and possibly in center. But really, whether or not you’re a viable big leaguer depends on what you do in the batter’s box.
Jones was recently added to the 40-man roster in November, to avoid entering the Rule 5 draft. This is his first of three potential seasons. If he struggles to pitch in the big leagues in the next few weeks, he could be moved back when Stanton or Domínguez come off the IL. If he finds a way to make it work, they probably have some tough decisions to make.
They’re in for a treat, as the Yanks are 26-12. Not only is that tied for the best record in baseball, but the entire American League is reeling. The Rangers are in third place in the AL with a 20-19 record. Even if Jones hits hard, they will still be in a strong position.
Photo courtesy of Morgan Tencza, Imagn Images
