Jasson Dominguez's latest roster snub is just another way for Yankees to save money

The New York Yankees gave the news that their fan base has been waiting all season for. They promoted an outfielder from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The only problem is that the outfielder was not Jasson Dominguez - it was Duke Ellis.

On the surface, this isn't a horrible idea for a September call-up. Ellis will rarely see the field, but can really run. He's played just 76 minor league games this season with four different organizations yet has 51 stolen bases in 55 attempts. Having him come into a game late and steal one or two bags could provide a boost.

Ellis can be useful, but again, he isn't Dominguez. The Yankees had a chance to promote their top prospect and one of the very best prospects in the majors who has been hitting well lately and can play a major role on this team, but chose not to. The reason wasn't even to get Ellis on the big league team. It is likely because the Yankees have money on their minds.

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Yankees prioritizing the wrong things with latest Jasson Dominguez roster snub

If Dominguez retains his rookie status for 2025, the Yankees can receive an extra draft pick after the first round of the 2026 MLB Draft if he wins the Rookie of the Year Award next season. That sounds great in theory, but two there're two clear problems with this approach. First, how can you be certain that Dominguez will even win next year's Rookie of the Year Award? Second, how is this their priority?

The Yankees enter Sunday's action with a 79-57 record, first in the AL East and 1.5 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles. Their record is fantastic, but that does not mean they're a team without flaws - particularly in the outfield.

Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are great, obviously, but left field continues to be a major weakness for New York. Alex Verdugo provides defensive value and got off to a good start to his Yankees career, but he has been one of the worst hitters in the majors for much of the year. His 71 WRC+ since May 1 is tied for the third-worst mark among qualified hitters, yet he's playing regularly. Verdugo's defense isn't even good enough to make up for his inability to hit, as he has -0.2 fWAR since the start of May.

Why exactly does Verdugo have such a long leash? It's not even as if he's part of the Yankees' future, considering the fact that this is his final year of club control before he hits free agency after the year.

Even if the Yankees didn't want to replace Verdugo on the active roster, why is Trent Grisham and his subpar bat good enough to stick around over Dominguez?

If Dominguez was struggling it'd be more understandable, but he has been outstanding. Since his frustrating one-game cameo earlier this month, Dominguez has 17 hits in 47 at-bats (.362 BA) with five extra-base hits. He has multiple hits in seven of those games including a four-hit performance. He's hitting .313 with an .870 OPS in the minors overall this season.

What makes this even more disappointing is that if the at-bats were the issue, couldn't the Yankees just promote him now and play him only most of the time to ensure he doesn't pick up those 100 at-bats to maintain his rookie eligibility?

Snubbing Dominguez makes one thing pretty clear - the Yankees do not have the right priorities. Instead of promoting your red-hot star prospect with a clear place to play, the Yankees choose to keep him down presumably to allow him to maintain his rookie eligibility for 2025, while continuing to stick with Verdugo, a player demoted to the ninth spot in their lineup on Sunday. They're a team that can win the World Series right now, and are choosing to not run with their best 28-man roster. Any roster without Dominguez is not their best roster.

Focusing on the future in the only guaranteed year that they have with Juan Soto is a choice, and not the right one.