Yankees’ Jasson Dominguez, Trey Sweeney move sparks trade deadline chaos

Yankees fans are a special breed. When the trade deadline arrives, they abandon all rationality, suddenly begging to remove all restrictions on prospect availability while eagle-eyeing minor-league lineups, alignments and dugout behavior for any sign of movement.

There won’t be any definitive word on trades until later this week at the earliest, but that likelihood did not stop the fan base from letting their imaginations run wild on a super-hot Sunday afternoon.

Whether any trade is on the horizon or not, it would make sense for the Yankees to keep their tippy-top prospects safe, especially with 100-degree heat licking the Hudson Valley Renegades in Wilmington, DE, as well as the Triple-A Scranton club and Double-A Somerset.

That’s why yanking both Jasson Dominguez and Trey Sweeney from the late innings of a game Hudson Valley was trailing just 12-8 felt like the kind of cautionary move that could also precede something much bigger. Obviously, both names appeared heavily in the rumor mill this week.

And Sunday’s sudden decision to bench both men — with a red-hot Sweeney on the verge of the cycle — led to an immediate Twitter panic, with the likelihood of a Juan Soto trade increasing daily. Was a bombshell on the horizon? And why was Anthony Volpe still playing Sunday evening in a game that had yet to start?!

Yankees’ Jasson Dominguez, Trey Sweeney yanked from High-A game ahead of trade deadline

Of course, this was all a little silly … but … on the other hand … was it?

Dominguez has begun his Hudson Valley career with five hits in 12 at-bats, as well as eight total bases. After a slow start to 2022 that left him lumbering down top prospect lists, the kid (he’s still just 19!) has rounded into form, culminating in an .828 OPS as the second half commences. And while Sweeney might not be the first or second shortstop you think about while perusing the Yankees’ system, he, too, has been red hot lately; he’s up to .338 over his past 20 games out of the spotlight.

A Dominguez/Sweeney-led package would feel a bit light for a potential Juan Soto deal (there’s no way the Yankees can even have those conversations without Volpe, right?). Concurrently, it would also feel a bit wild for Dominguez to lead a Luis Castillo deal over Oswald Peraza, even though evaluators seem to be split on which player deserves more plaudits at this point in their career.

Also noteworthy? Power-hitting catcher Josh Breaux, rumored to be a Cincinnati target, was also kept on the shelf Sunday afternoon.

Breaux, Peraza, and Somerset starter Will Warren seem the likeliest targets to leave at this year’s deadline, but you can’t blame fans for a brief fit of panic when both Dominguez and Sweeney hit the pine at the same time — and with a cycle on the line for Sweeney, no less!

Nearly 24 hours later, it’s now obvious a deal wasn’t right at the finish line when the move was made. But with Domingo German set to counter Max Scherzer Wednesday at Citi Field, perhaps the Yankees should speed up their Castillo pursuit a little bit.

3 Yankees who should be off the roster after 2022 trade deadline

These three New York Yankees should be off the 2022 roster after the trade deadline. Sorry, but Joey Gallo's time is approaching.