The Yankees came up short against the Blue Jays in the ALDS, but the front office has already gotten to work retooling the team, specifically in the outfield. New York extended the qualifying offer to Trent Grisham, which he accepted. Cody Bellinger opted out of his contract, but the team is interested in bringing him back. The team has been linked to top free agentĀ Kyle Tucker. With at most one spot available alongside Aaron Judge and Grisham, where does that leave Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones?
Dominguez delivered league-average results at the plate in his first full season of MLB action. He was widely regarded as New York’s top prospect before last season. Given his pedigree, Dominguez is likely overqualified as a fourth outfielder. Jones is probably due for a call-up after launching 35 home runs across Double-A and Triple-A last season, but adding him to the roster without a clear role could stunt his development.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com had the Yankees dealing Jones when he outlined one trade candidate for each team. Feinsand’s colleague Bryan Hoch mentioned Dominguez and Jones popping up in trade talks if the team secures one of Bellinger or Tucker. Let’s dig into those possibilities.
Trade Dominguez, Keep Jones
Dominguez debuted in 2023 and immediately made an impact, hitting four home runs in eight games. His season was cut short by a UCL injury that eventually required Tommy John surgery. Recovery from the procedure limited Dominguez to 76 games between the minors and majors in 2024. He was a regular for the Yankees this past season, patrolling left field for the majority of the year, while also spending time at DH. The results at the plate were … fine. Dominguez put up a 103 wRC+ as a 22-year-old, finishing with 10 home runs and 23 stolen bases.
The main concern with Dominguez was in the field. He recorded a miserable -10 Outs Above Average and -7 Defensive Runs Saved. Dominguez finished with a -9 Fielding Run Value, which ranked as the 16th-worst mark among all qualified fielders. New York was able to hide Dominguez at DH at times last season, but a healthy Giancarlo Stanton will make that difficult.
Even with the defensive shortcomings, Dominguez has shown enough at the plate to command a considerable return in a trade. He’d be the swing-for-the-fences move and could potentially bring back assets that could contribute on the big-league roster right away.
Trade Jones, Keep Dominguez
Jones has the type of profile that makes him both an enticing trade chip and a sell-high candidate. He was a first-rounder in 2022 and has piled up offensive production in every professional season. Jones reached Double-A by the end of 2023 and dominated the level when he repeated it in 2024. The big lefty mashed 17 home runs and stole 25 in 122 games with Somerset. Jones again found himself with the Patriots to begin this past season. He posted a silly 185 wRC+ to finally move to Triple-A, where he hit 19 home runs in 67 games.
While the minor league production is great, spending so much time at Double-A is a red flag, and it seems to be related to Jones’ contact challenges. He’s had at least a 28.2% strikeout rate at every stop since 2023. Jones struck out more than a third of the time in 2024. Even as he piled up home runs with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Jones carried a bloated 36.6% strikeout rate.
Trading Jones would allow the Yankees to cash in on his massive power season and avoid rolling the dice that he’ll make enough contact to succeed as a big leaguer. Of course, inquiring teams would be aware of Jones’ main flaw, but perhaps his pedigree and recent performance would be enough to overlook the swing-and-miss in his game. The return in a trade would be appealing, though it might require taking on assets with their own question marks.
Keep Dominguez and Jones
It’s hard to envision this scenario if New York ends up landing Bellinger or Tucker, but those players will have plenty of suitors. The Yankees could focus on bullpen upgrades in the free agent market instead of making additions on the offensive side. Jones has only played outfield and DH in his minor league career, so there aren’t many ways to fit both players in the lineup. Having Jones repeat Triple-A as a 25-year-old could be considered an admission of his lack of MLB viability, so it probably makes sense to let him fail at the big-league level.
Platooning the switch-hitting Dominguez and the lefty-swinging Jones jumps out as a potential option, but the issue is the former’s struggles from the right side. Dominguez hit just .204 against lefties last season. He was much more productive as a left-handed hitter. Stanton has battled injuries for much of his career, so he probably isn’t equipped to handle everyday DH at-bats at this stage. The Yankees can find enough reps in left field and DH for both Dominguez and Jones, though neither would be a full-time player.
Even if New York keeps both players this offseason, they could still make a move during the year. Finding a trade partner once teams are dealing with injuries and underperformance should be an easier task.
Photo courtesy of Gregory Fisher, Imagn Images
Spencer jones is a pitcher?
No, they have it linked to the wrong guy. Go to baseball reference and search āSpencer Jonesā.
Dominguez and Jones both of them combined for Bubba Chandler, who says no?
Probably the pirates but thatās interesting
I just don’t see the value of either player or even together to get anything of confirmed value. Dominguez who came up a CFer, can’t play defense and Jones while intriguing hasn’t developed to prove he’s not just a homer, strikeout or walk player. Personally, I’d trade Dominguez for a similar young player as a change of scenery might help both and have Jones return to AAA hopefully for an early call up.
@Dewey
I’m not a fan of “3 outcom” hitters and it’s not what the Yanks need but keys stop acting like those guys, especially ones that ate cost controlled for the next few years, don’t have considerable value. How much as Kyle Schwarber earned and will earn during his career? If he can echo that production they then not he’s extremely valuable.
Simple; keep Jones and Dominguez, lose Bellinger.
@Arnold
Or sign Beli and keep them all all until at least the trade deadline or until the winter and decide if you want to keep Grisham or let him walk or maybe eat Stanton ‘s last year if he’s unproductive this season? Yanks are only on the hook for $15 mil next year. I could see them cutting him off he’s unproductive and Jones looks ready. They could offset his $15 mil with two young guys still on their pre’arb numbers and let Grisham walk too if he’s still here. No urgency to trade anyone.
Dominguez and Jones both of them combined for Bubba Chandler, who says no?
=========================
Pitt is too busy laughing to say no. If I were the RS, I’d be thinking about Duran + Campbell for Bubba.
Joe
Yeah, they would probably want Lombard from Yankees or Arias from Red Sox plus a second player.
I think Arias and Duran for Bubba would get it done, though I still see Duran to the Dodgers as most likely, maybe for Jackson Ferris straight up.
Oppo: He was a great pitcher in college for a while…
lol! Apparently he is , its just heās not who theyāre writing about in this article.
Is it more or less likely that both Dominguez and jones both bust or both hit? Iād lean bust, Jones profiles as a Joey gallo type player and Dominguez gives me such bad vibes he canāt hit from the right side and he has such bad power numbers for being a so called āMartian ā.
Tbf, if you pick any two prospects/rookies and ask if they’ll both bust or hit, it’s FAR more likely that they’ll both bust. That’s just probability
Bad power numbers? He’s 22 years old, and never played enough to get into a groove! You have to actually play in real life as opposed to being in a fantasy league. No, the real issue is that you would probably play a better left field than he did last year. The plan is for him to get a lot of reps in winter ball. But, but if you are twenty-two years old and presumably have been playing baseball since you were a little kid and can’t track fly balls… Well maybe he just doesn’t have that talent, and never will. At this point it’s, who knows? As for Jones tall men take longer to develop in baseball. Nobody would have to use your words, profiled Randy Johnson to become “The Big Unit” or Aaron Judge for that matter.
I’m confused. You say we can’t judge his numbers because he’s “never played enough to get into a groove,” but then go on to say he’s “presumably have been playing baseball since you were a little kid” to assume he is what he is. Has he played enough baseball to judge him or not?
You are confused because you didn’t carefully read what I said. I was referring to his playing time last year affecting his hitting “groove”, not to mention his lack of MLB hitting experience.
But you can’t play regularly for the Yankees if you can’t field your position. That is what I was referring to when I pointed out that if he hasn’t acquired the skill of catching fly balls, something that he’s been doing when he was a kid, when will he? Does he have the ability to do so? Not everyone has that talent. Maybe you have the glove to be his caddy, I would imagine that you couldn’t be any worse. Because I tightened up everytime any fly ball came his way…. If that isn’t clear enough please do respond!
@Yankee Johnson is 6’10” and Judge 6’7″. It was fair to assume they were gonna grow into a lot more power. Dominguez is 5’9″ well still plenty of time to develop and to bulk up, I think the 2 comps u mentioned just really dont work well here.
He was discussing the 6’7″ Jones, not Dominguez..
Tigers: Dominguez is as bulked up as he’s ever going to get. Dude was so jacked on D-ball when he signed at “16” he had to lose muscle. He has a good eye and some pop. He might need to give up switch hitting and his defense is shockingly bad.
See the Mad Hatter’s response below….
@jersey That was kind of the point I was getting at. Comparing him to 2 players who had to fill in doesn’t really work.
@Mad Jones is 24, thats not who was be I mg discussed
D-Bol*
OK, I was being a bit snarky. A lot of (especially younger fans) people who have grown up looking at stats think that baseball is about reading stats. If that were the case you and I could learn to be GMs in a relatively short period of time. So trying to judge I was responding to a half-baked critique by El Chapo. These guys aren’t machines, and the young players need development time. El Chapo was essentially saying that because The Martian didn’t hit for some insane power at age 22 he was a bust. Yeah, I could have explained my POV better, but it was late at night and I was hunting and pecking at my Kindle (which sucks if you are in bed). Hope that I cleared some things up!
If you have to bet, then you always bet that a prospect will bust.. The numbers are overwhelmingly against a prospect making a roster. Let’s say that the odds of a prospect to make a MLB roster is 1-1000. The odds of two prospects making the show is 1000*1000=1,000,000 or one in.a million!!! Thats for BOTH players making it.This is just an example (I don’t know the actual odds) of any given prospect, or what percentage value evaluaters use for “A-D prospects). But in.a simple fashion it explains why you shouldn’t get too excited because your team has five ” exciting prospects ” which will turn your team into a Dynasty.. The odds are overwhelmingly against that happening!
DON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH PROSPECTS!
Yankees fans on their way to say Dominguez for Skubal or Skenes straight up
Idkā¦ maybe throw in Konnor Griffin and youāve got yourself a deal!
Skubal the 1 year rental for 5-6 years of Dominguez isnāt absurd. Throw in a couple more players and itās very plausible. No one with a brain is going to propose Dominguez for 4 years of Skenes.
How bout only Cristopher Sanchez? You guys can flip them for Skubal, Skenes, or whomever you fancy.
No, it’s Frazier and Andujar for Skubal lol
That was for Cole. It was for real and Cashman turned it down.
It beats Yoshida for Skubal straight up.
Belolinger
Don’t they have to cut payroll? It sounds like Steinbrenner felt there wasn’t enough profit from last year’s $700 million in revenue.
On the other hand, they could give the new owners of the Rays a few gifts and turn that team into the current millennium version of the St. Louis Browns. Don’t the Yankees require a better option for 3rd base? How about trading McMahon straight up for Caminero?
Why would Tampa do that (assuming you’re not trolling). If Caminero were made available, the return would be much higher.
It is sarcasm, all the way down.
m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61GQzhsNkaL.jpg
Of course, sarcasm is only tasty when served with an appetizer of truth. Yes, Steinbrenner is calling for a cut in the payroll.
Dominguez will probably be traded.
And Cashman will regret that decision for at least the next decade.
Eh. Heās had 500 PAās in the bigs now and isnāt a kid anymore at 23 this season. Very poor fielder, looks like moderate power. I actually think Jones might be worth more in a deal.
There were 8 players in MLB younger than him. Think he might still qualify as a ākidā.
Cashman has been GM since 1998; Other than Lowell in ’99 and and Cliippard in ’07; what trades has he truly regretted? Sure, he’s had plenty of acquisitions that haven’t necessarily played out but who has he given away that turned out to be something really special?
Allstars he traded as prospects
Cristian Guzman, Eric Milton, Mike Lowell, Jake Westbrook, Ted Lilly, Dioner Navarro and Mark Melancon
Nick Johnson was traded when he was young but i cant remember if he was prospect or not but he was a solid player too. when healthy.
None of those guys have statues in front of the stadiums they played in after being tradedā¦
Guess you have a high bar. You can lose a trade without trading a hall of fame player.
@fly
I’m sure 100% of GM’s have traded away a young guy that maybe became something later. None of the ones you mentioned go down n in terms of what anyone would bag k “regrettable”. Knoblauch was a legit all-star at age 28 when he was traded for using Guzman and Milton. Cash envisioned him and Jeter manning the middle infield for the next 10 seasons but at least he’s helped them win 3 chips. Considering Milton had a career 5 ERA and Guzman only played a +.300 OBP once in his first 6 years I think the trade worked out well.
Some of those players were traded for legitimate stars like Knoblauch & Justice who helped us win World Series.
Linked the wrong Jones
I don’t see this as a “problem” in need of a solution. Grisham is lbj signed for 1 more year and that’s no guarantee that he’ll be as good as he was last year. If Grisham proves to be a bust then slide Dominguez into his role and move Beli to CF. Or if Rice struggles at 1b then move Beli to 1b and Dominguez stays in LF. You never know when Stanton might miss substantial time or (gasp) Judge. History has shown that every time the Yanks think they are deep in a position we tend to run through it. Ppl need to be more patient with Dominguez. All those begging for Kwan to be a leadoff hitter an to glance over the fact that both Grisham and Dominguez had higher OBP’s than him. As for Jones, I don’t think a .831 OPS indicates he had difficulty at AA but rather the Yanks aren’t rushing him to the bigs. Make him think he’s competing for something this spring and then start him at AAA. Make him force himself on to the bigs by putting up great numbers and a lowered K rate. There is no rush and unless they sign Tucker then no need to trade either Dominguez nor Jones.
KnicksFanCavsFan
I donāt see this as a āproblemā in need of a solution.
================
I didn’t even understand the question or why it was there. Dominguez-Grisham-Justice across the outfield.
*Judge*
My dream outfield was
Jones
Jasson
Judge
Until Cashman screwed up bringing back Trent
The worst thing the yanks can do is sign clay or tucker
These are my opinions
I know most will have their remarks regarding me
But I am saying what I believe
Need a true SSā¦ā¦still.
If Cashman can get either Marte or Donovan in a trade that will be a good start for upgrading the infield. I don’t think they can upgrade SS this winter., they will have to go with Cabby and Volpe.
Slider: Totally agree.
Volpe is fine
He was injured and people dont seem to be able to comprehend the toll it took
They should have put him on the DL
If your dream is terrible defense with not 1 but 2 unproven hitters at the MLB level then ya, thats a dream outfield lolol
You can think whatever you want, itās a free country
But I see lots of GMs put together losing teams
So I feel good about what I think
So your dream is Judge + league average no defense guy + likely to bust prospect? Thatās a bad dream.
Yep
And people who think they know everything put together teams that have losing seasons every year
Jones starts the season in Scranton and tries to make more contact. He’ll probably get a call up at some point when somebody gets injured, but I have low confidence that he is a major league quality hitter right now and, quite possibly ever. Dominguez moves around and gets his fair share of ABs. Especially since Stanton will very likely miss considerable time because he’s Stanton.
FYI they linked the wrong Spencer Jones. Also, Jones did not have 35 home runs in AA. That was split between AA and AAA.
I don’t think Dominguez or Jones are going to bring back the pieces the author thinks they would. They’re prospects and their highest value currently is in NY. The guy you need to trade is Stanton. Miami is already eating 20M of the 60M he’s due so I don’t see why NY wouldn’t eat another 20M to clear him out. Then with Grisham out after next year, you got Tucker, Belly, and Spencer as your OF and Dom can be the DH.
Both Tucker and Belly… counting your chickens a tad early i see.
So where is Aaron Judge playing in this scenario?
Traded with Stanton.
Yep, so the team could’ve”afford” to sign Tucker AND Bellinger along with signing both Jones and Dominguez to team friendly long term deals…
dewey, just donāt pay attention to Hal. The Yankees havenāt won a championship since 2009. There might a lock out in 2027, so howās the time to win. So go all out and sign Tucker, Bellinger, Imai, King, and either Diaz or Fairbanks. I donāt care anymore! Go out with a bang! What are the Yankees worth now, $8.2 billion? They should prove it to their fans. Lol. Itās not my $. They could trade Dominguez or Jones. So basically just keep one.
Bubble bursting time….Dominguez isn’t a prospect any longer as he was up all year. long and played 123 games….Jones is still a prospect and given that The Martian is a switch hitting CF’er by trade with speed, he might not return a superstar but he still has top tier value given his age and forward opportunities…..Jones, while having issues with K’s, is scratching at coming up into a MLB that loves the long ball and puts up with ridiculous strike out rates as long as you achieve veto, launch angle, and put the ball over the fence……if he can hit league average, the K’s won’t matter to a trading team……not a headliner but there is value there for sure….
You’re right about trading Stanton but dead wrong about whether they can….he has an ironclad no trade clause and has already thrown water on any trade including a trade back to home in CA……..there’s no way that Hal is going to green light both Tucker and Belly so you can throw that out too…..respectfully…maybe stick to the A’s trade rumors because you don’t know the Yankees at all….
Itās nearly impossible to hit for a league average with a 35% K rate ā¦ and that was in the minors. Would be higher in MLB. Youād need like a 400 BABiP, and Jones hits mostly fly balls so that aināt happening.
Rocky, the issue is Dominguez’s glove, which to date has been horrible wherever be had played. Had he been able to play center Frisson likely wouldn’t have gotten a chance to have the year he had.
Where’s Ben Rice playing?
It leaves Dominguez or Jones as trade bait. Not room for both on the roster.
of course there is. Jones in AAA.
I honestly doubt Yankees end up with Bellinger or Tucker. Go trade for Kwan now!!!!
Why do you want Kwan? Heās a league average hitter, donāt know why everyone was making a fuss over him at the trade deadline. Iād rather see what we have with Dominguez in a full starting role if we donāt sign one of those 2
Kwan can flat out hit. Doesn’t strike out. Runs well. Gold Glove OF. He makes any team he is on better!
stymee – he’s solid, but I don’t want to give up a haul for him. not a star like people make him about to be. I wouldn’t describe someone who was a league average hitter as someone who can “flat out hit”
of course there is. Jones in AAA playing his but off trying to earn a call up. Dominguez as a 4th OF waiting for an injury to open up a spot.
That would kill both their trade values. What they need to do is cut Stanton.
seam- yes exactly! cut a guy who raked last year. great idea
@seam
Who says they NEED to be traded? Grisham is only signed for 1 year and Stanton is bound to miss time every year. All you need is for an injury from Stanton, Beli, Judge, Grisham or Rice to make Dominguez a full- time player. Remember back when the Yanks traded Cortez to Milwaukee and we did so because we were trading from a position of depth at the time? We had Cole, Freid, Rondon, Gil, Schmidt and Stroman with Warren in AAA. By mid 2025 those guys weren’t even enough. Cashman would be an idiot if he traded “just because” we might have 4 OF and a possible in AAA. Bringing in Beli, having Grisham performing well, a overall healthy team and Dominguez holding his own in limited ABs is a good problem to have at the trade deadline.
Keep em both, Stanton’s getting older and only about 35mil the Yanks owe him the next 2yr, wouldn’t be outrageous for them to cut him loose if both of these guys pan out.
Yeah it would qualify as outrageous as Stanton hit 158 OPS+ last season.
Arods was 129 in 2015, any idea what happened to him in 2016?
Find someone who loves you the way Brian Cashman loves overhyped prospects.
“Heād be the swing-for-the-fences move and could potentially bring back assets that could contribute on the big-league roster right away.”
That’s not enough love for you š.
Thereās simply no way NY will sign both Belli and Tucker. Itās just not what they do. So seems to me thereās not much to see here. Dominguez is the 4th OF but with plenty of ABs, Jones is in AAA.
The authorās suggestion Jones ārepeatingā AAA is some admission he canāt play in MLB is silly. He spent less than 1/2 the year in AAA.
Agreed, it’s either Tucker or Belly,,and then they move either Jones or Dominguez in a trade for a starter.. Maybe for Peralta.
Belli AND Tucker was never an option and completely went out the window when Grisham accepted the QO
Yankees are gonna be all in. Theyāll trade what it takes to get Alcantara from the Fish and probably land Belli.
How does that improve the offense though? Even with Belli itās just running it back.
Yeaā¦ this was mostly about the outfield. So I tried to stay on topic.
If the Phillies were to let Schwarber walkā¦ I would be calling the Yanks up to see if they would eat another 20 or 25M of Stantonās deal. Would essentially be a 2/14 to 2/9 deal at that point. Good value for 20+ hrs. And heās not going to play a full 162, so whenever heās down, JT can get some DH time lol.
I couldnāt tell if you meant schwarber or realmuto but Stantonās bat is really good again so they donāt need Kyle to take over DH and also Austin wells and Ben rice are 2 good options at catcher
Trade both before they turn into Clint Frazier.
Tell them not to get repeated concussions and they won’t turn into Clint Frazier.
Donovan to Yanks.
Cards get back Dominguez and AA pitching prospect.
āFalling shortā is quite the understatement. This seams like a luxury problem for the Yankees if you can call it anything. Jones is a story only. Like any highly touted prospect thatās all they are until theyāre something else. Iām hoping heās the second coming of Judge however Iāve watched too many hyped prospects reach the majors then fade sadly fade away. The martian.was that two years ago and last season wasnāt great but wasnāt a disaster either which probably is great,if you get my meaning. I wanted to text something snarky like, well they fired both the BP and FB coaches so they should win the whole enchilada next season,but I didnātā¦ oh waitā¦my bad.
Keep Jones and Dominguez, move Judge back to centerfield, let Bellinger walk. Let Williams walk and sign Nestor Cortes as closer. The Red Sox, Blue Jays and Dodgers will thank you.
Cortes in the bullpen is interesting. Grisham accepted the QO and is back in CF.
I’d sign Bellinger. He is a lefty who rakes against LHP.
Move Jones to 1B. Rice at C. Keep Dominguez as OF depth / DH behind Stanton.
Have to have depth this season with Judge still a liability in the OF.
Didnāt they say Jones hasnāt played 1B in pro ball?
Move Judge to first base if Jones can’t play the position.
They forgot the trade both option and sign Bellinger or Tucker (who is just Bellinger but better)
Trade Both.
The Yankees don’t have time to develop a player. They need turnkey players.
Send both these guys and some throw ins to SD for Tatis Jr. Call it a day
The Padres arenāt trading Tatis for a league avg hitter who is a DH and an outfielder who strikes out 36%+ of the time.
Highly unlikely they would trade Tatis at all. If they did decide to and he waived his no trade clause another team would offer more.
For example the Red Sox. They could offer Duran, Casas, starting pitcher (one of those 3-5 guys they claim to have a bunch of), Mayer, Yoshi, prospects.
For Tatis and Cronenworth. I added Yoshi in there because it offsets some of the money. This clears some payroll for the Padres and plugs some holes. While not adding a ton of payroll the next couple of years to the Sox. Padres could then trade Sheets as Yoshi fills his role with similar production, clearing a few more million off the books. Anyways something like this would be more in like in my eyes than a deal with the Yankees for those two.
Tatis & Cronenworth for Abreu, Duran, Harrison & Hicks.
Disregarding the fact that SD is not close to trading Tatis, you guys pick up a RF, LF, and you have a history of rehabbing pitchers. And every SD fan in the world would love to have two former SF pitchers torturing them.
On the RS side, Cro is good enough to start 2nd, Tatis adds a huge RH bat, and we’d have the best defensive OF ever.
Trade both is the right path. You’re dreaming if you think there’s even a fraction of a chance they could get you anywhere close to getting Tatis.
Trade Jasson and whatever for a big time SP. Keep Jones, sign Belly, have them all play. When Trent leaves you have Clay for CF, Jones for left.
The āwhateverā better be a lot. You wonāt get a ābig time SPā for the overhyped/overated Dominguez. Heād be an ancillary piece.
That’s actually not in the least bit true, and Yanks have plenty of pieces. But honestly I didn’t say Jasson would net us a big SP on his own anyway. The article is about the NY OF and specifically mentions Jasson and Jones. So I mentioned Jasson. The whatever is meant as whatever else it would take.
Obvious trade bait for the Cardinals. One of these guys and a high pitching prospect for Donovan and Romero. Lines up well for both clubs
Iām a fan of a different team, one with its share of fielding and swing-and-miss problems in the outfield. Neither of these guys appeal. I could see a small market team taking a run At Dominguez.
I was sorting out the Yankees outfield the other day in a deserted laundromat on Thanksgiving afternoon. Odd colored Sox, oh here’s a white one or now there’s a red one, subway token, match box and dryer lint kept popping up. This piece of lint looks like a fuzzy chipmunk. It’s a keeper.
Tale of two franchise. Yankee collecting OFs like some shutin collecting commemorative civil war plates on the Bradford exchange. Dodgers assembling championship pieces like sportscar lining them up to each other along the long tree lined driveway
@Dumpster
I never knew having 4 OF was considered “hoarding”. By the way the 4 guys they had helped the Yanks OF rank 1st in homers, rbis, batting, on base, slugging and walk rate. They were top 5 in every other category and 1st overall in WAR. Defense and base running are important categories to improve on but the eye test to me showed Judge, Grisham and Beli were better than the metrics indicate.
I personally like it, as a Chicago based fan who rostered (checking notes) 7 Ysnkees who led me to an inch of 1st place in fantasy: Jazz, Grisham, Rice, Caballero, Carlos, Weaver, Bednar…
Here is the correct Spencer Jones:
baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=jon…
Wrong Spencer Jones linked.
Yanks need either Tucker or Bellinger at this point, if Boras squeezes Cashman on Bellinger he will move to Tucker and 2 relief pitchers. If they land Belly I can see them adding Imai and relief.
I’m trading both kids tbh, obviously for a very solid and controllable return, whether separately or together. Where does the org have depth? Not many places currently, C, tentatively at SP (just such a fragile commodity), IF is razor thin behind volpe, jazz, mcmahon, and it’s not like they are the strongest group in the world. At least 1 OF should be flipped for an IF of similar value.
As far as bellinger, i think with goldschmidt gone that opens up a swing spot for belli and they intend to have rice as a 90% starter bouncing between c 1b dh again. Belli as a 1B/OF will open up semi regular at bats if they really wanted to give a kid a chance
The obvious solution seems to be to start Jones in left and Dominguez at his natural position in center, where his fielding should improve. Use Grisham as the 4th outfielder, or trade him while his value is high. Last year was an aberration for him and he’s unlikely to replicate it. Forget about Bellinger unless they want him for first base, which would be understandable since Rice is NOT a good 1st baseman. Then focus on pitching (one ace-level starter and rebuilding the bullpen), and 3rd baseman who can hit as well as field, and a shortstop (unless they’re really, really confident in George Lombard, Jr. in one year. Then maybe get by with Caballero for a year.
So, you’d sit Rice who is one of the Yankees better hitters and an up and coming very good player offensively with average defensive skills who can play 2 positions…,1st base and catcher….albeit neither at GG level but art least average at this point…..wow
I’ll do Dominguez for Kwan. Kwan a lead off and contact hitter the Yankees sorely need. Plus Kwan plays a gold glove LF.
@Edde That’s exactly why I say go get Kwan. I don’t want Grisham or Wells lead-off any more. Go get Kwan. Trade Dominez, Gil and another player. NOW!!!!
even tho Dominguez had a higher OBP than Kwan last year?? haha
Given that this is only one of the stories posted on MLB Traderumors today, and that there is at least 1 other article that primarily deals with the Red Sox, I suggest you scroll a bit when on this site and read what you prefer….
Makes no sense to trade either. Hal wants to lower the team salary so why get rid of them when you have team control for 5 years. There are no great potential outfielders in the minors for multiple years.
Hal wants to lower the team salary
========================
When did this start?
Sign Tucker, trade both. Easily the most sensible option, but unfortunately not very likely.
Both Dominguez and Jones are terrible fits on this roster and for team goals. Both can only hit left handed. Dominguez can’t play defense. Jones can’t make enough contact and is more useful in CF where Grisham will play all year.
Neither will get an opportunity to work through their flaws as the Yankees can’t be patient with guys like this unless they have no other option.
I’m not sure why the OF is a problem, unless you’re looking to sign Belli or Tucker.