Jasson Domínguez has rough day in 2-1 loss

With Aaron Judge’s return going well, and Spencer Jones lapping him in the playing time order, the Yankees simply don’t have a spot for Dominguez right now. The 23-year-old has hit .225/.267/.368 in 222 plate appearances in the bigs with six homers and eight stolen bases. He may eventually wind up being a reclamation project elsewhere with Judge, Jones, and Cody Bellinger ahead of him on the depth chart.

It might only be a short stay with the Yankees for Domínguez with Aaron Judge (rib) presumably getting close to returning after taking on-field batting practice on Friday. The 23-year-old former top prospect gets another look in the big leagues with Trent Grisham landing on the shelf with a hamstring strain. He’s the type of talent that fantasy managers can never completely dismiss, but his odds of making a fantasy impact down the home stretch are extremely low.

Domínguez became expendable for New York after picking up corner outfielder Heliot Ramos from the Giants at the trade deadline. The 23-year-old former top prospect heads back to the minors with Spencer Jones remaining up with the big club.

Left-hander Henry LaLane will be part of the return, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. This doesn’t seem great for Ramos. He might play regularly for now, but if things work out for the Yankees, he’ll finish the season starting primarily against lefties. It’ll be interesting to see if the team sends down Jasson Domínguez here (assuming he’s not in the trade) or maybe gives up on Amed Rosario. Ramos’s departure will leave the Giants even more punchless for now, but as a bad defensive corner outfielder probably best utilized as a DH, he didn’t seem like a long-term fit alongside Rafael Devers and Bryce Eldridge.

Anthony Volpe then singled in Domínguez to make it 2-0. Domínguez also went 1-for-4 with a walk in game one. He’s not embarrassing himself in hitting .232/.270/.394 in 164 plate appearances, but he’s still not showing much in the way of upside at the plate, and it’s hard to say what the Yankees could realistically expect to get for him if they make him available at the deadline.

Domínguez was solely responsible for the Yankees only run against Roki Sasaki and the Dodgers’ bullpen in this one. He smoked a double to right-center in the fourth inning that Andy Pages bobbled, which let Domínguez get to third. Then, Dalton Rushing let a forkball clank off his glove and Domínguez scampered home on the pass ball. He’s played everyday for a month straight and has four home runs and six stolen bases despite a lowly .679 OPS over his last 30 games.

Dominguez took a Zack Littell sinker out to right-center field to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning, then singled and scored in the ninth inning on Jazz Chisholm’s homer. The 23-year-old is now hitting .346/.393/.615 in his last seven games with two homers and a stolen base. He’s not exactly a must-roster at this point, but he’s a talented player getting a real chance with Aaron Judge out, and he may be getting hot at the right time.

Domínguez’s homer, his fourth in 108 plate appearances this season, would have been a double most days, but this was still a really nice game, as he delivered hard-hit balls all five times up. He entered the day 3-for-21 with no extra-base hits in his last six games. With Spencer Jones going back to Triple-A, Domínguez seems set to play pretty regularly until Aaron Judge returns. He hasn’t offered much mixed-league value yet, but he still might for a spell.

Chisholm took the brunt of the collision when Domínguez ran through him while attempting to field a pop-up in shallow right field, making contact with his head. It appeared Domínguez either didn’t call him off or Chisholm didn’t hear the call in time. The 28-year-old second baseman was able to walk off the field under his own power and didn’t lose consciousness on the play. He’ll undergo evaluation for a possible concussion. There should be an update on his status following the contest.

The Yankees struggled to muster any offense against Payton Tolle and the Red Sox’s bullpen in this one. They wound up with just three total hits and the only two that went for extra-bases – Domínguez’s double and another from Anthony Volpe – came after Tolle left the game. Regardless, Domínguez has hit safely in four straight games and is not only an everyday player for the Yankees right now, but consistently in prominent spots in their lineup.