The New York Yankees finally ended their months-long standoff with Cody Bellinger this week, bringing a key piece of last year's team back into the fold. But for as positive a development as that was, there was one clear loser: Jasson Dominguez, the former crown jewel of New York's farm system who now finds himself without a clear path to playing time.
Dominguez got just 79 plate appearances from Aug. 1 on last season and appeared in exactly one postseason game. The Yankees have now reassembled the exact same outfield configuration that froze him out in 2025, and if that weren't enough of a sign, the fact that they've seemingly dangled him in trade talks from the deadline through this offseason sure is. Brian Cashman simply does not see Dominguez as a part of the Yankees' picture, and rather than continue chasing a dream that's probably dead, it's time for fans to face the music — and the team itself to get what it can and move on.
Why a Jasson Dominguez trade is Yankees' only solution
It's understandable for Yankees fans to have a hard time letting go of the dream. Dominguez was billed as The Martian when he signed with New York for a record-setting bonus, a potential five-tool outfielder in the mold of Mike Trout. Even after it became clear that ceiling was no longer in play — if it was ever even fair to ascribe to a 16-year-old to begin with — Dominguez was a plenty intriguing prospect as he worked his way through the Minors, a switch-hitter with big-time pop who was athletic enough to handle center field.
It feels like it's time, though. Yes, Dominguez won't turn 23 until next month, among the youngest position players to make an Opening Day roster last season. And yes, he held his own at the plate, posting an OPS above league average. But his outfield defense needs tons of work, and he's yet to show the ability to hit left-handed pitching in the Majors. The latter of which, in particular, is a problem: Dominguez isn't nearly good enough to take playing time away from Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham, and because he's awful against lefties, he can't be used as a platoon partner either.
All of which means that, barring injury, there's no clear path to Dominguez getting regular playing time — and no reason to burn a roster spot on a duplicative player. It will hurt not to see the Dominguez experiment through, but his own lack of development and the Yankees' wonky roster construction have created an untenable situation for a team with World Series-or-bust expectations. And the only way out is to trade Dominguez before there's no one to trade him to.
What New York needs, and what it can expect to get in return
Yankees needs ahead of Spring Training
Much as the tristate area would love to find an upgrade over Anthony Volpe at shortstop, the reality is that New York's lineup is more or less set for 2026 with Bellinger's return. From here, Brian Cashman is mostly making tweaks at the margins: finding a right-handed platoon partner for Austin Wells, and flipping Dominguez for a righty-hitting outfielder. Beyond that, the pitching staff could use upgrades both in the rotation (where Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt will all start the year on the IL) and the bullpen (where Luke Weaver and Devin Williams both defected to the Mets).
What value would Jasson Dominguez hold in a trade?
This question is a trickier one, no matter how badly Yankees fans might try to insist that he'd fetch a haul on the trade market. A former top prospect who posts the exit velocities and sprint speeds that Dominguez has won't be without interest. But his flaws are real and obvious, and it's unrealistic to expect a rival team to give up impact talent in return for someone who might not even be an everyday player at the big-league level.
All of which is to say that Yankees fans shouldn't expect to get a starter at a premium position in any Dominguez deal; talking about him as a major piece of Freddy Peralta talks was never in touch with reality. He's more likely to fetch back something more supplementary — a reliever, for example, or another part-time player that might better fit what the Yankees need. As much as New York might want to fixate on Dominguez's much-discussed upside, he's 23 now, and teams will be focused as much if not more on the risk than the reward.
Which teams might be interested in a Jasson Dominguez trade?
Cincinnati Reds
After falling short in its pursuit of Kyle Schwarber, Cincinnati has failed to do much of anything to upgrade an offense that simply wasn't good enough last season. The situation is particularly bleak in the outfield corners, with the likes of JJ Bleday, Will Benson and Noelvi Marte carrying the load. If this Reds front office isn't serious about spending money to solve its problems, they might be forced to take a gamble on a cost-controlled option like Dominguez — who, at the very least, will mash right-handed pitching and provide some needed pop.
Cleveland Guardians
Steven Kwan aside, Cleveland's outfield has been a black hole for years now, and this notoriously cheap ownership group has done little to ameliorate that this offseason. (No team got less production from right field than the Guards, who posted a .605 OPS.) At this point, the Guardians are relying on top prospect Chase DeLauter to make the right-field job his own in 2026, with no real answers in center.
Kansas City Royals
Kansas City had the worst hitting outfield in the sport last year, with a wRC+ of 73. Acquiring Isaac Collins from the Brewers should help that somewhat, but Collins is hardly a sure thing, and the Royals could use another bat in the mix here. Plus, they've got pitching to spare, which would seemingly make them a good match.
Philadelphia Phillies
Sure, Nick Castellanos is technically still around, but something tells us Philly isn't factoring him into its 2026 plans in the outfield. That leaves only Adolis Garcia and Brandon Marsh, not a great spot to be in for a team that might be as World Series-or-bust right now as the Yankees are. With infield and bullpen surpluses, there might be a deal here; and hey, Dominguez's defense can't be worse than Castellanos.
San Francisco Giants
If you have any idea who's starting in right field for San Francisco this season, please let me know. Jung Hoo Lee and Heliot Ramos are set in center and left, respectively, but the Giants are currently staring at Drew Gilbert as an everyday outfielder, and that hardly seems ideal for a team bent on at least Wild Card contention.
Building the Yankees' best-case scenario for a Jasson Dominguez deal
This feels like the upper limit to Dominguez's value right now, especially with the Yankees broadcasting to all the world that they don't see him as a regular player. Singer is the spitting image of an innings eater, a sinkerballer who's thrown at least 150 frames in each of the last four years and should hopefully be able to keep the ball on the ground enough to survive at Yankee Stadium as a No. 4 starter. He's not someone you want starting postseason games, but then again he won't have to: The goal here, after missing on a Peralta trade, is to find someone who can tide you over and get you to October with Cole, Rodon, Schmidt, Max Fried and Cam Schlittler as healthy as possible.
Of course, one year of Singer would be a hard sell for several years of Dominguez, despite the latter's question marks moving forward. So the Reds also throw in Ashcraft, a converted starter whose top-line numbers from 2025 (3.99 ERA) don't match up with how good his underlying stuff is in relief (where his velocity is up a couple of ticks and he can stick to throwing exclusively his cutter and slider). The throw-in of Hampton, a talented but injury-prone pithcing prospect who's fallen down New York's pecking order, helps make up the gap in value and avoids making this a 2-for-1. (Swapping Escarra and Trevino, meanwhile, allows the Yankees to have a more apt platoon partner for the lefty-hitting Wells.)
Is this the sort of blockbuster Yankees fans probably have in mind when they think of moving on from Dominguez? Almost certainly not. But it makes New York better in multiple key areas, and it's hard to imagine doing much better — especially if Dominguez never gets the chance to rebuild his value.