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Yankees: Jasson Dominguez isn’t on a roster and fans are freaking out

Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Yanks Go Yard

A New York Yankees hat (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)

Some Yankees fans, furious with the team’s early-season performance, have spilled ink online angrily advocating for Jasson Dominguez to join the MLB outfield in Aaron Hicks’ place as a fresh-faced 18-year-old.

While that is clearly…insane, those fans are going to really not enjoy Sunday afternoon’s minor-league news.

After 18+ months away from the game, minor-league stadiums will finally open up again in the next week, giving prospects a chance to shine once more (side note: nobody tell Staten Island the season’s beginning…).

Unfortunately, Dominguez will not be showing off his skills at any of them.

Though rumors of an aggressive promotion directly to High-A emerged last week, the truth is the 18-year-old Dominguez will continue his streak of not playing organized professional baseball, apparently starting again at extended spring training.

Understandable? Sure. Upsetting? Also definitely yes. Fans aren’t thrilled.

Yankees fans are wondering where Jasson Dominguez is.

“Jasson Dominguez is still freshly 18. Jasson Dominguez is still freshly 18.” Just repeat that mantra to yourself and you should be fine.

Though it’s fair to mentally compare him to other prodigies like Juan Soto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., both of those men were able to dominate the lower and upper minors by the age of 17. Dominguez’s age-17 season was completely absent from the record, thanks to a higher power. No fault of his own, but he’s simply not going to be on Soto and Vladdy’s level at this point.

Dominguez isn’t the only high-profile prospect missing from these initial rosters, either.

Yoendrys Gomez and Alexander Vizcaino are both on the Yankees’ 40-man roster, which begs significant questions about whether they’re healthy or not. Josh Smith and TJ Sikkema? Two supposed fast risers (utility infielder and power lefty) who saw their development stunted by the pandemic.

Yeah, we guess they could use more seasoning at extended spring camp.

Additionally, 2020 draftees Austin Wells and Trevor Hauver are both beginning Opening Day on rosters, but promising pitcher Beck Way is not.

No matter what happens in June, July and August, we’re going to have to preach patience here. Trust us: the Yankees have not forgotten about Dominguez.

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard for 6 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast thrice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for 10 years. He was also a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.