ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jasson Dominguez checked another box Wednesday while continuing his comeback from Tommy John surgery.
The 21-year-old Yankee started his first game in the outfield after strictly DH during the first two weeks of his rehab assignment, playing five innings in center field for Double-A Somerset.
During 11 rehab games, switch-hitter Dominguez hit .286 with an .810 OPS, now adding defensive responsibilities to his plate.
“He’s in a good position,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees’ 2-1 win over the Angels on Wednesday night. “He had a very good rehabilitation, in the sense that everything went well, he wasn’t rushed, he was built correctly. So he’s in a pretty good position.
Dominguez’s 20-day rehabilitation period ends June 2, after which the Yankees will have to either activate him to the major league roster or list him in the minor leagues.
The latter scenario remains the likely scenario, barring an injury to the big league club – although even then Dominguez will only have a handful of games on the field before his assignment expires. rehabilitation, meaning he would likely still need more time at Triple-A to fully develop his workload.
Once he’s back from a physical standpoint, Dominguez can serve as insurance in case one of Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo or Giancarlo Stanton gets injured.
When Soto hit his 15th homer of the season Tuesday night, he joined Judge (17 homers) for just the seventh time in franchise history that two teammates have hit at least 15 homers in the Yankees’ first 56 games. . season.
The last to do so were Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira in 2011.
Before them, it was Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961, Mantle and Yogi Berra in 1956, and Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in 1927, 1928 and 1930.
Soto had a lengthy conversation with two umpires during Tuesday’s game, which Boone said was about the field clock being in his line of sight in center field at Angel Stadium.
Boone added that it was his understanding that the location of the clock complied with regulations.
Infielder Kevin Smith — left off the roster outright Tuesday to make room for DJ LeMahieu — changed course Wednesday and accepted assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre instead of becoming an agent free.
New York Post
