Jasson

Domínguez

Domínguez was caught stealing in the second, but that didn’t stop him from trying again later. He’s up to .371/.395/.686 in 38 plate appearances, and he’s stolen three bags in four tries. It’s just probably not going to matter unless someone gets hurt.

Dominguez was one of three Yankees to take Justin Verlander deep on Thursday, walloping a four-seamer some 431 feet. The Martian is up to a 1.010 OPS in spring ball with three homers and two steals, but doesn’t seem assured of major league playing time at this point with Randal Grichuk’s lefty-mashing skill set likely parking Dominguez in Triple A.

Dominguez is hitting .333/.344/.600 in 32 plate appearances, though his 10/1 K/BB isn’t very inspiring. It probably doesn’t matter at this point; unless an outfielder ahead of him gets hurt, Domínguez is almost surely Triple-A bound. Randal Grichuk makes a lot more sense as a fourth outfielder, since the Yankees would just need someone to face lefties on occasion.

Domínguez’s homer off Marco Raya in the first left his bat at 110.9 mph, which would have tied for his fourth-highest mark in a regular season game. He’s 5-for-12 with three extra-base hits this spring, but it sure seems like the Yankees haven’t left any room for him or Spencer Jones, who hit his third homer today, on the major league roster.

Grichuk provides New York with another lefty-mashing platoon outfield option to spell Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham. His arrival seems to further indicate that the Yankees would prefer to have Jasson Domínguez playing everyday at Triple-A instead of languishing on the bench. The 34-year-old veteran is coming off an underwhelming year split between the Royals and Diamondbacks where he batted .228/.273/.401 with nine homers in 113 games. He makes sense as a bench option with the Yankees but can be safely ignored in all fantasy formats.

Domínguez enters a pivotal spring training without a clear avenue to regular playing time after New York re-signed veterans Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham earlier this offseason. The 23-year-old former top prospect could potentially wind up back at Triple-A to continue his development by playing everyday. These situations have a way of sorting themselves out but it’s clear that Domínguez will offer minimal fantasy appeal in a reduced role at the highest level. Here is the full lineup: Domínguez (LF), Aaron Judge (RF), Ryan McMahon (3B), Paul Goldschmidt (DH), Seth Brown (1B), Paul DeJong (SS), Spencer Jones (CF), Max Schuemann (2B) and Ali Sánchez (C).

“I would concede it’s in [Dominguez’s] best interest to be getting everyday reps,” Cashman said. “We’ll just have to wait and see how the spring shakes out, who’s standing, and then we’ll make the appropriate decisions when we have our meetings close to the end of camp.” With Trent Grishham and Cody Bellinger back, there’s no clear path to Dominguez playing every day with Giancarlo Stanton a lock to be the designated hitter. There’s still big-time upside in Dominguez’s profile, but it may not be on display much in 2026.

Rice is likely to come off the board as a top-five catcher in fantasy drafts this spring, but he’s rapidly becoming one of the more polarizing hitters in the entire fantasy landscape. He ranked among the league’s upper echelon in average exit velocity (95th percentile), barrel rate (92nd percentile) and hard-hit percentage (97th percentile) during last year’s 26-homer breakthrough campaign. The soon-to-be 27-year-old slugger appears poised to catch more often than originally anticipated with the Yankees bringing back veteran lefty-masher Paul Goldschmidt to handle the cold corner against southpaws. Kirshner notes that Rice, who is currently viewed as the club’s third backstop, could potentially move into the backup catcher role behind starter Austin Wells in addition to serving as their primary first baseman against right-handed pitching to free up a roster spot for someone like Jasson Domínguez. The added playing time opportunity comes paired with the inherent injury risk that has always followed catchers behind the plate.

The financial terms come from Jon Heyman of The New York Post. It’s been said that Ben Rice was going to get a shot against lefties this year, but that hardly seems to be case now, at least not while everyone is healthy. It’s certainly an understandable move by the Yankees. Goldschmidt, a future Hall of Famer perhaps entering his last season at age 38, hit .336/.411/.570 in 168 plate appearances against southpaws last season. Besides diminishing Rice’s role, his return figures to push Jasson Domínguez back to Triple-A, again assuming that the starting lineup makes it through the spring healthy.

The deal includes a full no-trade clause, a $20 million signing bonus and opt outs after 2027 and 2028. Everything in recent days was trending towards this outcome, especially with the Mets seemingly taking themselves out of the mix by acquiring Luis Robert Jr. last night. The Cubs had been another suitor, but that appeared to end when they landed Alex Bregman, and the Dodgers solved their outfield need with Kyle Tucker. Bellinger’s return as the primary left fielder would seem to leave little room for Jasson Domínguez and top prospect Spencer Jones in the Yankees’ immediate plans. Domínguez could remain a fourth outfielder, which is how he ended last year, but it’s also possible the team could send him down to play regularly initially.