Aaron Boone set Jasson Dominguez record straight ... or created Yankees smokescreen

The big debate surrounding New York Yankees fans at the moment is the state of the team's outfield depth. Rumors suggest they are seeking a right-handed bat to add to their bench, with names like Tommy Pham, Austin Slater and Randal Grichuk surfacing.

It doesn't feel like any of those three would move the needle, which has many lobbying for a Paul Goldschmidt reunion. If his job is to mash lefties and give Ben Rice/Giancarlo Stanton/Aaron Judge some rest, how could anybody oppose that? Not to mention, he's a former MVP with a wealth of knowledge. Great guy to have hanging around in the dugout.

Not to mention, acquiring another outfielder creates a Jasson Dominguez problem nobody wants to deal with. Such an addition ostensibly squeezes Dominguez out of the picture because ... how much less playing time are they going to give him?

To be clear, it doesn't feel like the Yankees are going to do that, nor does it seem like they are going to trade him unless they get a ridiculous offer (which they won't). And it appears that was just confirmed by manager Aaron Boone, who spoke to both Michael Kay and WFAN on Monday.

It's hard to disagree with what he said, too. After all, with the same exact roster last year Dominguez still appeared in 123 games. He might not be a featured fixture, but he will get plenty of run as the team's fourth outfielder. And if somebody hits the IL, he immediately becomes a starter.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone clears air on Jasson Dominguez's 2026 role

There are plenty of fans and people within the organization who still believe in Dominguez, and there's no reason not to. His defensive struggles and inability to hit from the right side of the plate are definitely concerns, but he's not even 23 years old yet. Can we give him a second to figure it out with another year of consistent reps?

Then again ... we'd suspect other organizations believe in him too, which means Boone's comments could, in theory, serve as a smokescreen to distract from the possibility of a trade. We doubt it, but the Yankees have talked up players in the past only to trade them weeks or months later.

There's nothing out there to define Dominguez's potential market. He's a former top prospect whose abilities at the big league level are largely undefined at the moment. It's unclear what another team might give up to get him, but the Yankees would need to be smart about how they play their hand. For example, under no circumstances can Dominguez be traded for relief help. That's attainable in so many different ways and would represent malpractice.

But a controllable starter? A young middle infielder? A package of other prospects that helps them set the table for their trade deadline endeavors? All of those scenarios would be passable.

We wouldn't count on it, though. The Yankees invested a lot of time and money in Dominguez not to see this through. Trent Grisham is gone after 2026, meaning Dominguez should have a lane to be an everyday starter in 2027, which would be his age-24 season. Doesn't that feel like the smartest play given all the options at this moment?