The New York Yankees have issues, but they currently have the best record in Major League Baseball after emerging from a rut in June and July. The Yankees are presently slightly ahead of the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East, but it will most certainly be a close contest for the division crown.
The Yankees are unlikely to be one of those teams that can rest important players in the final weeks of the regular season while sitting in a safe spot. The division race might come down to the last week of the regular season, which features a three-game series between the Yankees and Orioles in the Bronx.
Due to the close division battle, the Yankees will need to squeeze every potential win out of this roster down the stretch. People already on the roster, such as Marcus Stroman and Gleyber Torres, will need to improve, as they have both recently looked better. The Yankees want to sustain those performances, but there are several clear personnel moves they can make over the next month and a half to improve their chances of winning.
Let’s get to the two players the Yankees should consider promoting to help them in their playoff push.
Jasson Dominguez (89), a centre fielder for the New York Yankees, was photographed at Yankee Stadium
The obvious option is to call up Jasson Dominguez and place him in left field, replacing the failing Alex Verdugo (Verdugo has a.233/.294./.363 slash line this season). He is the Yankees’ top prospect, and he shown his great potential in just a week of playing time in 2023 before realising he needed Tommy John surgery. Jasson Dominguez returned to action earlier this season before sustaining an oblique injury. After returning to play recently, the Yankees activated Dominguez as the 27th man for the Little League Classic, but only for that game.
Dominguez was moved to No. 5 in the Yankees’ lineup, indicating that the Yankees are comfortable hitting him in the middle of the order. Dominguez, like other top prospects, benefits from service time, and it’s easy to see why they’re waiting.
Dominguez’s situation has two components. The first consideration is service time, as the Yankees can extend their control by one year if they wait long enough. The following is his rookie status in 2025. If Dominguez plays fewer than a specified number of games or plate appearances in 2024, his rookie status is protected for 2025, and the Yankees may receive a draft pick if he wins the American League Rookie of the Year title.
After those dates pass, the Yankees should surely call up Dominguez and make him their everyday left fielder. Dominguez should be available when rosters expand in September.
Caleb Durbin, second baseman
This is a less clear call for the Yankees because Gleyber Torres has been doing well recently, Jazz Chisholm Jr. will return at some point, and Oswald Peraza has been promoted to the majors in the interim, but Caleb Durbin could be useful for New York in certain scenarios.
If Torres or Oswaldo Cabrera struggle, there could be room for Caleb Durbin, who is batting.286 with a.411 on-base percentage and.856 OPS in the minors this season, according to milb.com. The Yankees have some question marks in the infield and must decide who will start in the playoffs. Perhaps it’s worth watching what Durbin can do later this season.
