1 promising Yankees development, 1 issue to address right now after Blue Jays series

With some determination (and luck on their side) the New York Yankees completed a 5-1 road trip that ended with a series win in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Last year, the Rogers Centre was a nightmare for them, and it's possible they just flipped the script on that narrative (or at least bought themselves some more time).

What was most impressive? Though the Blue Jays have been decimated by injuries, so have the Yankees. They've been without Aaron Judge for two weeks; Giancarlo Stanton since April 28; Max Fried since May 13. And they just lost Trent Grisham. Jasson Dominguez was out for over a month until his return on Saturday. Yet they managed to persevere.

And that's where we'll start this excercise! Dominguez rushed to Toronto to arrive just in time for Saturday's game. He got the start in right field and recorded the only hit off Kevin Gausman (a solo home run to tie the game) despite the hectic nature of his promotion. He told reporters he drank four shots of espresso, two energy drinks and a pre-workout to make sure he was energized enough.

Jasson Dominguez's return is a game-changer for the Yankees

Though he only went 2-for-8, he scored two runs and was the reason the Yanks were able to win on Saturday. Not to mention, there weren't any issues with his defense in right field. We know that could change rather quickly, but so far, so good. If his defensive presence can give Aaron Boone more versatility with the lineup, it'll be crucial during an extended stretch without Judge and Stanton.

Most importantly, Dominguez keeps delivering when he's asked to. And he's rolling with the punches, between an early-season demotion and a momentum-halting injury. He's earned his opportunities.

But there is a problem. Would you be surprised if we told you it was with the bullpen? This one should be easy for the Yankees to address, so fans are hopeful they'll do it soon.

Jake Bird needs to go back to Triple-A and Yankees need to call on somebody else

Right-hander Jake Bird appeared in two games during the Blue Jays series. He gave up two runs. His outing on Friday night put the contest further out of reach for an offense that was doing its best to fight back. On Sunday, he put the Yankees down 3-2 in the sixth inning.

It's totally fine if he's being used when games are out of reach or don't matter, but Boone is addicted to deploying Bird when there's still something at stake. Either that needs to stop, or Bird should be optioned to Scranton in favor of any of the following: Yovanny Cruz, Kervin Castro or Brendan Beck. That'll at least give another player a chance and keep Boone from using an underwhelming arm in high-leverage.

Bird has a 5.14 ERA, 4.11 FIP and 1.43 WHIP in his 21 innings of work. The strikeouts have been fine and the walks aren't necessarily a concern. He just gives up too much contact and doesn't possess enough swing and miss to mitigate it.

The Yankees are allowed to have hope as they continue to get Bird back on track, but the bullpen cannot be even more unreliable while the team navigates these difficult injuries.

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