Yankees beat writer suggests Juan Soto is leaving top prospect's future in limbo

The entire dilemma with the New York Yankees' quest to re-sign Juan Soto is simple: he's not a great defender and he displaces multiple players in the outfield, which, in turn, diminishes their ability to perform of that side of the ball effectively. Most logical fans would admit it's an imperfect fit to have Soto in right, Aaron Judge in center and, we would guess, Jasson Dominguez in left field.

But would the Yankees even consider the latter? Dominguez's shaky defense in September forced the Yankees to bench him and give Alex Verdugo continued everyday reps. In the end, Dominguez was relegated to a pinch-runner role when a year ago he was taking the league by storm with his jolt of offense awakening a dead Yankees team.

Obviously, it makes sense to give Dominguez more runway in left field from the start in 2025, so he can work through any issues and develop comfortability in an unfamiliar position. But ... is that what the Yankees want to do?

Dan Martin of the New York Post seems to think Dominguez's future is hanging in the balance as the Yankees await Soto's decision. If Soto re-signs, could Dominguez become trade bait with the Yankees looking for a starting left fielder? If Soto departs, do the Yankees conduct the same left field search with Dominguez as the starting center fielder?

How does Juan Soto affect Yankees' Jasson Dominguez?

It's worth pondering, because with Soto's imperfect defense and Judge and Dominguez playing out of position, that alignment does not bode well for October baseball, as we just saw in the World Series when the Yankees' defense let them down in embarrassing fashion.

Then again ... what is Dominguez's trade value? It has to be at an all-time low, right? The Yankees just expressed more confidence in one of the worst qualified hitters in MLB this past season when they opted for Verdugo to remain in left field. What does that say to rival evaluators when they're trying to build a potential trade package?

Once again, the Yankees are stuck between a rock and a hard place with their roster construction and top prospect pool. They let Oswald Peraza's value wither to nothing. Spencer Jones once had incredible league-wide value, and an historic strikeout showing in 2024 knocked him off a very notable top-100 prospects list. Will Warren is now untradeable (and potentially unusable) after what he showed in 2024. Even Anthony Volpe went from a consensus top-five prospect in baseball to a middling offensive player in MLB.

Same old problems. Same old Yankees. But Dominguez's possible fall from grace might be the most unforgivable if all of this goes sideways.