<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0YxO8j_0viyf6ry00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0YxO8j_0viyf6ry00" width="1210" height="806" ></figure>A few weeks ago, when the calendar flipped from August to September, most people following the Yankees expected Jasson Domínguez to be called up to the MLB club. He had been hitting well in Triple-A since returning from a midseason oblique injury, and the Yankees’ incumbent left fielder, Alex Verdugo, simply wasn't producing at all. There didn't seem to be a compelling argument against giving the 21-year-old top prospect the call.But that seemingly inevitable move didn't come. Domínguez remained in Triple-A to start the season's final month, and the Yankees doubled down on their support of Verdugo. Brian Cashman stated that there wasn't a clear path to everyday playing time for Domínguez, which was absurd on its face given Verdugo's inadequacy. It only became more absurd when DJ LeMahieu hit the injured list on September 9th — the Yankees promptly called Domínguez up and he immediately got everyday playing time. The team's actions directly contradicted their stated thinking. It seemed they were more comfortable lying about Domínguez's worthiness than telling the truth about Verdugo’s listless season.We needn’t dwell too much on the statistics, but they’re bad: Verdugo’s hitting .233/.292/.353 on the year with a 83 wRC+ that is the second-worst among starting left fielders this year. Only Bryan De La Cruz, traded midseason from last-place Miami to last-place Pittsburgh, has done worse (76). The most depressing part is that Verdugo’s numbers are inflated by a hot start. From June onward, he’s at .219/.276/.309 with a 66 wRC+. For context, Harrison Bader and Josh Donaldson posted a 74 and 72 wRC+, respectively, during last year’s nightmare, and they got booted from the team before the end of August.Verdugo's struggles have been characterized by many weak grounders to the right side.I should clarify: it’s a staggering number of weak grounders to the right side.They've become so frequent that it's a wonder Verudgo hasn't taken the number 43 to pay homage, or at least keep his usual result fresh in the official scorer's mind.Verdugo’s even made a little ignominious history. MLB Network researcher Seth Warner found on September 7th that Verdugo was close to setting a Statcast-era record for groundouts to the right side. He set that record two days later, and appears primed to shatter it depending on how much more playing time Boone insists on handing him. (The previous record was 111; the current count sits at 115.)That 115th groundball was a killer. In Tuesday night's series opener against the Orioles, with the Yankees trailing 2-1 and the tying run in scoring position, Verdugo smacked a worm-burner just to the right of the second-base bag, which Gunnar Henderson fielded for a rally-killing double play amid the boos.Defenders of Verdugo often point out that he doesn't strike out, but in most cases, a strikeout would honestly be preferable to those uncompetitive outs which can easily turn into two. Crucially, Verdugo has demonstrated no ability to hit for power in the second half: he’s hit just two homers since the All-Star break and has a slugging percentage below .300 in both August and September. That level of noodle-bat is essentially unheard of in 2024, as the lowest season mark for SLG this year is .332 from no-name Nationals outfielder Jacob Young.Young provides Washington with premium center field defense to compensate for the anemic stick. Verdugo offers no such benefit, and it would only be worth so much in a corner spot anyway, where some semblance of pop is expected. His -1 Outs Above Average score is, well, clearly below average. Verdugo recoups some value with a strong arm, but not much. Intuitively, as an outfielder, you get far fewer opportunities to record outs on throws than on catches.So if Verdugo has no value at the plate, has hit a historic number of weak groundballs, can't hit for power, and is a net negative in the outfield by at least one metric, what's the sense in continuing to give him starts? Domínguez hasn't been explosive in his first 12 games, sure, but he at least seemed to be turning the corner at the dish during the West Coast trip, when he recorded a .945 OPS and hit as many homers as Verdugo has in the entire second half (two).Naturally, the Yankees have left Domínguez out of the starting lineup four times in the 14 games they’ve played since his recall. What happened to their own stated idea that he should only be up with the big-league club if he plays every day? Granted, Verdugo has been on the bench in six of those contests, but Boone reverted to him at Domínguez's expense with the chance to win the division at home. Why?The Yankees didn't win that game, by the way, and Verdugo made the final out, lifting a lazy fly ball on a fastball that Seranthony Domínguez left down the middle.With every game carrying increasing amounts of urgency, Boone can't allow his apparent fondness for Verdugo stand in the way of the team's best interest. Domínguez is the player with much higher upside who the Yankees clearly see as a big part of their future. Why should he not be part of their present? For the sake of an impending free agent who hasn't shown upside since April? Boone must also be mindful of the potential mental impacts this could have on Domínguez. The Yankees have been constantly hemming and hawing; first he wasn't ready to come up because they couldn't guarantee him starts, then suddenly he was called up and given those starts, and now they've seemingly settled somewhere in between. Being yanked around like this can’t be beneficial for the confidence of a young player with little MLB track record.These mixed messages seem particularly dangerous with that in mind, and this is all to say nothing of the fact that Domínguez has only three home starts in left field to his name. That spacious part of Yankee Stadium is not necessarily easy to cover, and theoretically, the team will use him there in the playoffs. Why is Domínguez not receiving as many opportunities as possible to get comfortable out there? Every little bit of experience counts, but they’re still dawdling around with Verdugo out there.The Yankees are often hailed as one of the most forward-thinking and well-run organizations in baseball. There are many merits to that reputation. But lately there have also been many instances where they have seemingly been blind to obvious developments. This season, Verdugo's lack of impact has been the most inexplicable of all. It bears repeating at all times that this is the Yankees’ only guaranteed chance to try for a title with Juan Soto in the lineup. On top of that, Aaron Judge is 32, Gerrit Cole just turned 34, and Giancarlo Stanton is almost 35.Time is of the essence. This is the most crucial stretch of a critical year. They can't throw away at-bats like this. It's far past time for Verdugo to hit the bench for good, and let Domínguez show us what he can do.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Enough with Alex Verdugo already

A few weeks ago, when the calendar flipped from August to September, most people following the Yankees expected Jasson Domínguez to be called up to the MLB club. He had been hitting well in Triple-A since returning from a midseason oblique injury, and the Yankees’ incumbent left fielder, Alex Verdugo, simply wasn't producing at all. There didn't seem to be a compelling argument against giving the 21-year-old top prospect the call.