Yankees' Jasson Dominguez on seven-day minor-league injured list
The Yankees’ Jasson Dominguez takes part in outfield drills during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Feb. 23. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
BOSTON — Uh-oh.
Top Yankees position prospect Jasson Dominguez, who underwent Tommy John surgery last September after an electric eight-game debut in the big leagues and who recently completed his rehab, was placed on the seven-day minor league injured list Sunday after being pulled from Saturday night’s game with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after six innings.
Aaron Boone said before Sunday night’s game against the Red Sox that Dominguez “felt something” in his left side — a potential oblique injury — on a check swing during his last at-bat Saturday.
“He’s getting testing today [Sunday],” Boone said. “It was enough to put him on the IL right away. Hopefully I have an idea of what exactly we’ve got by tonight or tomorrow.”
Boone described the check swing Dominguez took when the injury occurred as “awkward.”
If it is an oblique injury — which is not certain, though Boone did not rule it out — there’s no telling when Dominguez will be cleared to return. Oblique injuries are notoriously tricky and the timetable, depending on the severity, can range anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
Dominguez went 1-for-3 with a run and a stolen base Saturday before coming out of the game.
Dominguez’s rehab from the UCL tear in his right elbow officially ended last week and he was optioned to Triple-A. That was the organization’s plan for well over a month because there was no opportunity for consistent playing time in the big leagues. Not with the starting outfield of Alex Verdugo, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto being as productive as they’ve been.
In terms of production, the rehab process could not have gone much better for the switch hitter. In a combined 23 games between stints with Class A Tampa, Double-A Somerset and Scranton, Dominguez hit .356 with six homers, four doubles and a 1.014 OPS. He exclusively served as the designated hitter for the first two weeks of his rehab before transitioning to the field.
“Everything looked good — the at-bats, how he was moving [in the field], running the bases — from what I saw,” said one National League scout who recently saw Dominguez. “No spot for him up there [the majors] but looked ready.”
No word on Cole
Boone said a decision regarding where Gerrit Cole will make his next start has not yet been determined. If Cole — who struck out 10 in his 4 1/3-inning, 70-pitch outing for Scranton on Friday night in Rochester and was dominant in all three rehab starts — is activated this week, he will slot into the rotation Wednesday against the Orioles at the Stadium. Cole, who arrived in Boston before Saturday night's game, could opt for another rehab start, but at the moment, his next start coming in the majors would seem the safer way to bet.
Extra bases
The AL East-leading Yankees (50-24), who have gone 5-5 since a 25-6 stretch vaulted them to 45-19, will face the second-place Orioles (47-24) on Tuesday night, Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon at the Stadium before hosting three games against Atlanta.
