MLB insider believes Yankees trading Jasson Dominguez at deadline isn't off table

The 2024 New York Yankees are quite clearly a good enough team that they deserve to be improved at the trade deadline. While a 50-22 record may have felt inflated, the roster isn't untalented enough to be 10 games under .500 in every month that remains this summer. The Yankees' run differential indicates a strong team that's suffered from a small amount of bad luck, underperforming their predicted win-loss record by two victories. Their roster, on the other hand, indicates a team in need of saving across the infield, bullpen, and back end of the rotation. Oh, and left field. And manager?

In reality, the Yankees are somewhere in between -- a playoff-level team in a wide open American League that can easily heat up in September/October with a few breaks and reinforcements. That means they must pay a few harsh prices in a seller's market to add talent to their current roster in Juan Soto's walk year.

It doesn't mean, however, that they should overpay to an absurd degree as a July deadline approaches that doesn't quite have the star power as previous editions. This isn't a juggernaut looking to maintain their edge. It's a semi-contender in recovery mode.

Short of begging the Tigers to trade Tarik Skubal (something they don't intend to do anyway), slapping "Anything Must Go" signs on your entire slate of top prospects would be a bizarre use of the Yankees' resources in a market where the top prizes include Garrett Crochet (innings limit), Jack Flaherty (cheaper, odd fit), Luis Rengifo (speaks for itself), and Isaac Paredes (sure, but...poor stylistic fit for Yankee Stadium, weirdly).

Still, the Yankees are as close to "all in" as anyone at this deadline, purportedly, and according to Jeff Passan, that means both Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones are "on the table" in escalating trade talks.

Yankees have added Jasson Dominguez to Spencer Jones in MLB Trade Deadline speculation

If the Yankees would like to be tempted into trading Jones, whose production still hasn't matched his true talent level, and whose K rate isn't improving as desired, that would be fine. Juan Soto is Juan Soto. Aaron Judge is Aaron Judge. Dominguez is Dominguez. Sign Soto, add depth, and stay cooking, no need to overthink it.

It would be frustrating if they held onto Jones during the Corbin Burnes talks, then dealt him a few months later after his value had dipped, but it also wouldn't be a top-10 most frustrating recent trade decision in Yankees history. Onward.

But dealing Dominguez, who developed exactly the way the Yankees were hoping and showed off superstar traits under the microscope in his big-league cameo last year, would be malpractice, especially with Soto still floating long-term.

The right trade target may emerge someday (this winter?) to tempt the Yankees into something dangerous with Dominguez. As Judge and Gerrit Cole age, it's difficult to justify taking any prospect out of the conversation entirely while the window remains open. But Dominguez, right now, is more than just a prospect, and there's no name on the market that can match his value. Stay away.