Jasson Dominguez has opened a very annoying playoff door for Aaron Boone and Yankees

Even though the Yankees seem poised to exemplary offense over reliable defense at several other key positions (cough, Gleyber Torres), their outfield picture refuses to set itself in stone over the very same quandary.

Though the Yankees spent the summer (and the Sept. 1 deadline) assuring their fans that super prospect Jasson Dominguez had "no lane" to contribute and help reverse the summer swoon, he was elevated prior to the Royals series from Sept. 9-11 and immediately began playing nearly every day. The offense came along slowly, and he was shielded from left-handed pitching at first, but The Martian's pace picked up significantly during the team's west coast swing. 10-pitch battles began to resolve with lasers rather than whimpers. The power tool manifested, with a launch each in Seattle and Oakland. The base running acumen, the spirited drive ... it was all there.

Well, all of it but one thing, unfortunately. Dominguez opened the floodgates with a defensive gaffe on Hangover Day in the wake of the Yankees' playoff clinch. He misjudged a pivotal fly ball earlier in that series, too. Couple those recent missteps with his famed double-clutch throw that may or may not get the Detroit Tigers into the postseason, and the Yankees have seen exactly what they needed to in order to make their October lineup decision unnecessarily difficult.

And yes, all that was before he took a route to a Colton Cowser fly ball on Wednesday night that can generously be described as "wrong," contributing to the Orioles' remarkable six consecutive singles in a game the Yankees really wanted.

According to Aaron Boone, the race for a cemented starting role is "still declaring itself" between both Dominguez and Alex Verdugo. "Trying to keep everyone in the mix, fighting for different spots and different playing time," he added. "Feel like we have a lot of really good options and we’re more whole than we’ve been in a long time and that’s a good thing.”

Seemingly, almost every contribution he's made to the discourse recently has tilted the conversation in the wrong direction. The jury's out on whether Dominguez is a natural center fielder, but he certainly appears to be quite an unnatural fielder out in left.

Yankees outfield picture in MLB playoffs still waiting on Jasson Dominguez, Alex Verdugo decision

While it felt like iron might sharpen iron immediately after Dominguez's promotion, Verdugo has continued to roll over grounders at an historic rate, while the rookie's power has begun to manifest lately. Either player could potentially change a game on tenterhooks with one swing, but ... it's far likelier that the newcomer does.

That said, inserting Verdugo for defense in the seventh inning or later feels like a fine way for Boone to handle this. For Dominguez fans, that might represent the best-case scenario, as of this moment.