The Yankees are going to call up outfield prospect Spencer Jones, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. That will apparently be the corresponding move for fellow outfielder Jasson Domínguez heading to the injured list.
Domínguez departed today’s game after crashing into the wall to make a catch. He was examined by the medical staff for a while before being carted off the field. After the game, manager Aaron Boone told reporters that Domínguez will be heading to the injured list and will miss a few weeks. He has tested negative for a concussion thus far but has a low-grade AC sprain in his left shoulder. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com was among those to pass along the update from Boone.
It’s an unfortunate setback for Domínguez. He came into this season without a great path to playing time. The Yanks had an outfield consisting of Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham. The designated hitter spot was filled by Giancarlo Stanton. Moving Bellinger to first base wasn’t an option with Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt sharing that spot.
Domínguez was called up about two weeks ago when Stanton was sidelined by a calf strain, opening up some at-bats. Rice has also missed the past four games due to a hand contusion. Even though Rice isn’t expected to hit the IL, that also somewhat softened the clog which was blocking Domínguez. Now Domínguez himself will be sidelined and therefore unable to take advantage of the openings. Perhaps there will still be playing time available for him when he gets back but that will depend how long he is out and what happens with the other guys in the interim.
With Domínguez set to join Stanton on the IL, the Yankees will use that as an opportunity to look at Jones, who is a polarizing prospect. The power is undeniable but it also comes with big strikeout concerns. He hit 35 home runs in the minors last year and already has 11 this season, but with massive strikeout numbers. He was punched out in 35.4% of his plate appearances last year, between Double-A and Triple-A. He has reduced that this year, but to a still-high 32.4% clip.
He has still been productive in the minors, even with all those punchouts. He has a .269/.350/.567 line and 135 wRC+ in his Triple-A career, indicating he has been 35% better than league average, despite striking out at a 35.2% clip at the level overall. It’s hard to succeed when striking out that much and he would presumably whiff even more in the majors, where the pitching is notably better than in Triple-A. Last year, no qualified hitter struck out more than Ryan McMahon and his 32.3% pace.
As mentioned, it’s a divisive profile. He was a consensus top 100 prospect going into 2024 but he doesn’t appear on those lists anymore. Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs have him ranked #6 in the system, while The Athletic gave him the #7 spot and ESPN #5. Jones can steal bases and is considered an adequate defender, certainly in the corners and maybe even in center. But really, whether he’s a viable major leaguer or not depends on what he does in the batter’s box.
Jones was just added to the 40-man roster in November, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. This is his first of three option seasons. If he struggles against major league pitching in the next few weeks, he can be sent back down when Stanton or Domínguez come off the IL. If he does find a way to make it work, then perhaps they have some tougher decisions to make.
They are in a position to experiment, as the Yanks are 26-12. Not only is that tied for the best record in baseball, but the rest of the American League is floundering. The Guardians are third in the A.L. with a 20-19 record. Even if Jones strikes out way too much, they will still be in a strong position.
Photo courtesy of Morgan Tencza, Imagn Images
Good.
Good luck to the lad. I fear he’s gonna need it.
We’re about to find out if Jones is up to the task.
Haven’t been this excited since trading for Gallo.
he’s going to hit 3 home runs in his 1st game, and strike out 5 times in his 2nd game
I mean that would be an incredible outcome
An incredible two true outcome
Rooting for the San Diego kid.
Why are the Yankees “selecting” Brendon Beck but “recalling” Spencer Jones ? They both are coming up from AAA.
If he’s Adam Dunn 2.0 or better. I’ll be happy with that.
W speed
Beck was not on the forty Jones is. Jones’ contract was selected in November, he was optioned and is now being recalled.
What does malt liquor have to do with this?
Yep what StudWinfield said
Both will be headed back shortly. Bums
Jones is on the 40 man roster and Beck was not.
When does Spencer Jones get inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame?
Since he is a product of the Yankees system he just has to play one game to make it official. At least by Saturday.
Not until at least 5 years after he retires. Don’t you know the rule?
Unless you get really high and go flying your plane like a madman
At least wait until he hits the first pitch he ever sees into the upper deck in right.
lol it will be fun to see all the strikeouts. Golden sombrero -110
He has actually struck out a lot less recently.
“He has actually struck out a lot less recently.”
Last 3 weeks, since April 17, 61 PA, 25% K
fangraphs.com/players/spencer-jones/sa3019969/game…
That is a lot less than 35%. Yankees would be happy with 25%
Interested to see him but very tempered expectations. His heat map is red down and in and blue everywhere else. His in zone strike rate is worse than Gallo or any other guy with more than a few ab’s.
“rate”. The word “rate” exists.
Jones is a better bet as a bench player than Jasson. His defense is much better, he can spell Grisham in CF (although they are both lefties). He’s a better base stealer than Dominguez. And although he is boom or bust at the plate, there’s a lot of boom and that’s typically what you need when sending up a pinch hitter. The Joey Gallo comps are not unfair, but like Gallo he walks a lot. In 2021 Gallo hit for a below .200 Avg and led the majors in strikeouts with 213 (just under 35% k rate). Yet with 38 HRs, a league leading 111 BBs and gold glove defense, he produced 4.5 bWAR. Jones is not going to get enough playing time to put up that kind of WAR, but if he come of the bench and can be Joey Gallo, that would likely work out fine.
It’s smart to do this now before gas prices climb even higher
Adam dunn 2.0 has arrived
Jones is not being called up to sit on the bench that I can guarantee you! Many people on this post are going to be very surprised as this kid going to be as good as advertised even with the high K rate. He is a stud and his power, speed and defense is exactly what this team needs! We all should be praying that Jones takes advantage to a point they have no choice but to play him and everything will work itself out. The kid going to make the middle of the order more dangerous! Once that happens Dominguez is trade bait as he needs to be a F/T DH with another organization as his routes in the outfield are disaster.
Grisham should be released or traded.