New York Yankees phenom Jasson Dominguez made a splash in his MLB debut this past season, homering in his first at-bat against future Hall of Fame inductee Justin Verlander. While Dominguez’s rookie season ended with elbow surgery, there’s promising news on his status for 2024.
Dominguez, age 20, was diagnosed with a torn UCL in his elbow this September and required Tommy John surgery. The young outfielder originally played through the injury, but his production progressively worsened. After undergoing TJS, Dominguez’s status for Opening Day 2024 was in doubt.
- Jasson Dominguez stats 2023: .258/.303/.677, 4 home runs, 7 RBI, 8-1 K-BB ratio, 1 stolen base
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While Tommy John surgery can sideline a pitcher for 18 months, the timeline for recovery is much quicker for position players. NL MVP Bryce Harper underwent TJS and returned to the Philadelphia Phillies lineup 160 days later. It appears the Yankees’ emerging star could have a similar timetable for a return.
New York’s skipper Aaron Boone told reporters that Dominguez’s recovery from TJS is going ‘really well’ and while they don’t have a clear timeline for his return, there’s confidence the young outfielder will look like his regular self in spring training.
“I just know he’s doing really well. We haven’t set an updated ‘when we expect him to be back’ necessarily, but I know he’s doing really well. I’m optimistic that it will be sooner than later. I think when he gets to spring training, he’s going to look a lot like a regular player. But we’ll see. It’s obviously not something we’re going to rush. We’re going to make sure he’s in a really good spot when he’s ready to come back.”
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Jasson Dominguez
- Jasson Dominguez contract: Pre-arbitration eligible (2024-’25), .031 service time
It’s certainly a promising update for the Yankees regarding Dominguez’s path to rejoin the lineup. Previous estimates had the emerging star returning in June, but a faster recovery could boost New York’s lineup early in the 2024 season.
However, there’s an additional issue for New York. With Aaron Judge moving to center field, Juan Soto playing right field and Alex Verdugo in left field, it only leaves the designated hitter spot. That role belongs to Giancarlo Stanton and New York also has Trent Grisham as a fourth outfielder.
When Dominguez is cleared to return, the Yankees could determine the best thing for him is to receive regular at-bats in Triple-A. While it would keep one of the most exciting players in baseball away from Yankee Stadium, it could pay off in the long run for New York.
