TAMPA – Jasson Domínguez came to camp with an uncertain role and put together one of the best springs of any Yankee.
It still was not enough to win a spot on the Opening Day roster.
The Yankees optioned Domínguez to Triple-A on Friday, two days before breaking camp with a full outfield that did not have room for the 23-year-old outfielder who had 429 plate appearances in the big leagues last season.
The writing was on the wall for this to happen since the opening days of camp, when general manager Brian Cashman acknowledged that it would be in Domínguez’s best interest to be getting everyday at-bats, which was not going to happen in The Bronx (barring injury) with a starting outfield of Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger.
Domínguez’s chances became even slimmer when the Yankees brought veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk to camp on a minor league deal, with the right-handed hitter fitting the Yankees bench better than the switch-hitting (but better from the left side) Domínguez.
Still, Domínguez did everything in his control to leave a strong impression this spring, batting .342 with a 1.013 OPS, three home runs and three steals in 13 games.
Domínguez’s demotion came in the latest round of cuts, which also included relievers Kervin Castro and Yerry De los Santos being optioned to Triple-A and catchers Ali Sanchez and Payton Henry and outfielder Kenedy Corona being reassigned to minor league camp.