Jasson Dominguez a likely September callup for Yankees

MLB.com’s Joe Trezza contributed from Washington for this edition of the Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

WASHINGTON — Ever since Jasson Domínguez returned to game action in mid-May, the Yankees have left their No. 1 prospect to play and develop in the Minors rather than sit in the Majors.

As general manager Brian Cashman has explained, the organization did not see a path to provide Domínguez with everyday at-bats, considering they had Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo starting in the three outfield spots and Giancarlo Stanton seeing reps as the everyday designated hitter.

That’s still the case, but with only a month of the Minor League season left and big league rosters set to expand on Sept. 1, the calculus on Domínguez might be evolving. The Martian may be landing again soon.

The Yankees briefly brought Domínguez back to the Majors as their 27th man for the Little League Classic on Aug. 18. Rosters will expand to 28 players beginning on Sept. 1 (this upcoming Sunday), and it’s expected Domínguez will rejoin the Yankees by then. As manager Aaron Boone said recently of Domínguez: “He’s always an option.”

Is there a path to everyday at-bats now for Domínguez? Well, no. But even in a reserve role, having Domínguez should be a helpful boost for the Yankees for the stretch run. He’s been swinging the bat well lately, too, recording multihit games in five of his last eight contests at Triple-A.

The opportunities Domínguez does get are likely to come at the expense of Verdugo, a left-handed hitter who has struggled more against lefties (.608 OPS) than righties in what has been a down season overall. Left-handed pitching has been an Achilles heel for the Yankees all season. The switch-hitting Domínguez would give them another right-handed option against lefties, as New York’s current fifth outfielder, Trent Grisham, is also left-handed.

Verdugo hit only .178 with a .500 OPS from June 15 to Aug. 23, and he went 0-for-21 over the final six games of that stretch. But he’s picked things up as of late, going 8-for-19 with a homer and four runs over his past five games.

“I’m definitely feeling better,” Verdugo said this week. “Definitely putting better swings on and staying within myself a little bit more. It’s just, keep it going and try not to get too ahead of myself and look for damage or anything like that. Just keep taking what the pitchers are giving me.”

Said Boone: “He can be such an impact player for us. I don’t care who you are — rookie, veteran — you go through it, and you go through some struggles. You go through a tough stretch, it wears [on you]. The grind is real. So a couple months there where he’s grinded through it, to get some traction — especially all the work you put into it, pour in, behind the scenes, trying to unlock yourself and get it rolling to get some results — it’s good for the soul.”