Yankees’ Alex Verdugo reason for not promoting Jasson Dominguez
The New York Yankees’ outfield is home to two of the best players in the MLB in Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, the former’s slump over the past few games notwithstanding. Judge and Soto are among the league leaders in WAR (per Fangraphs), and they have done their fair share of heavy lifting for the Yankees offense. And then there’s the third member of the Yankees outfield in Alex Verdugo, who has been very disappointing throughout his stint in the Bronx.
But thankfully for Verdugo, it doesn’t seem as though his poor performances are putting him in any danger of losing his job, even with top prospect Jasson Dominguez languishing in the minors. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, said that the team believes that starting Verdugo at left field “gives them the best chance to win games” and that Dominguez will only receive a call-up if he’s guaranteed a spot on the everyday roster.
This sounds like a very preposterous thing to say for a top decision-maker in the Yankees franchise. Alex Verdugo doesn’t even have a long track record of being an impactful player. Last season, his wRC+ was at 98, which is below average, and he peaked all the way back in 2020 — a time long gone.
This season, Verdugo has stunk it up for the Yankees at the plate, which isn’t exactly ideal from a player manning a corner outfield spot. His wRC+ this season is at 84, which is the worst of his career outside of his 15-game cup of coffee back in 2018, and his slash line of .235/.293./.359 is not helpful whatsoever. The eye test is even worse, at it becomes very frustrating for Yankees fans to continue seeing him muster weak contact from one at-bat to another.
Be that as it may, being this stubborn may not do the Yankees any favors moving forward. Fortune favors the bold, as the old adage goes, and while there is plenty of uncertainty surrounding Dominguez and just how impactful he could be once the team calls him up, his upside dwarfs the predictable yet consistently meh production coming from Verdugo.
Jasson Dominguez languishes in the minors while Alex Verdugo struggles for the Yankees
To be fair to Alex Verdugo, he has at least been more productive for the Yankees at the plate as of late. The 28-year-old left fielder has tallied at least one base hit in 10 of his past 11 games, with three multi-hit games during that span. But the stretch that preceded it was absolutely ghastly. From July 19 (post All-Star break) to August 23 (date prior to the start of Verdugo’s solid stretch), Verdugo slashed .196/.277/.268 — absolutely horrific numbers that warrant a demotion out of the starting lineup.
The Yankees could afford to be more brazen with their roster decisions. It’s not like they don’t have the prospect depth to replace a struggling left fielder like Verdugo. They have Jasson Dominguez in the organization, after all.
Dominguez turned heads during his big-league cup of coffee last season; in eight games (33 plate appearances), Dominguez hit four home runs and drove in seven runs on an impressive slash line of .258/.303/.677 — showcasing his immense power potential. This season, in Triple-A, Dominguez has tallied seven long balls and 24 RBIs on a very good slash line of .313/.371/.497.
It’s only a matter of time before the Yankees realize that Dominguez is too good and that he’s more than ready to take over Verdugo’s spot in the everyday roster.
The post Yankees’ Alex Verdugo reason for not promoting Jasson Dominguez appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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