Yankees' early Jasson Domínguez behavior at Triple-A proves they lied about plan

You can argue that Jasson Domínguez should have made the New York Yankees' Opening Day roster, but that doesn't change the fact that Domínguez's defense and hitting ability from the right side still need a lot of work.

When Domínguez was officially sent to Triple-A to start the season, it felt pre-ordained, as if nothing Domínguez could have done in spring training would have made a difference. Yankees fans were irked by this for a moment before quickly shifting into positive thinking: "Domínguez will be able to hone his righty bat further by playing every day! Playing every day is what matters most for his development! He can't do that on the MLB squad!"

Those sentiments felt good and made sense in the moment, but now Yankees fans are confused. That's because Domínguez isn't playing every day in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In fact, he's been benched on back-to-back days against lefty pitching. Hold on, I thought the plan was for Domínguez to get his reps in ... especially against lefty pitching! What are we doing here?

Jasson Domínguez's righty bat isn't getting any better in Triple-A (when he's on the bench)

But let's forget about hitting for a second. Can the Yankees at least develop Domínguez to the extent that he's an average defensive outfielder? Because he hasn't looked like one since heading back to the minors a couple of weeks ago.

Again, all of these questions can be answered, and all of these issues resolved, if Domínguez is in the lineup every single day for the RailRiders (health pending). On the other hand, when fans see that he's being withheld from the lineup on multiple days in a row, they have no choice but to assume that the Yankees simply lied about their Triple-A plans for Domínguez.

This leads fans to another question. What exactly are the Yankees' plans for Jasson Domínguez? Like, their truthful, actual plans. Is New York gearing up to trade Domínguez before this year's deadline? If that's the case, benching him in Triple-A doesn't do anything, either.

It still feels like Domínguez will factor into the MLB landscape in 2026, whether that's through injury or underperformance from a guy like Randal Grichuk. Aaron Boone has hinted at harboring this same feeling, although Boone, like us, doesn't know exactly how things will shake out with Domínguez, one way or the other.

If Domínguez isn't playing every day, the Yankees are in complete no man's land with his development. If they feel that there's any chance he could be on the MLB roster when the games really count in the fall, they need to max out his righty reps in Triple-A, or they need to tell him to abandon the right side entirely.