{"id":617716,"date":"2026-03-11T01:21:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T01:21:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/617716\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T01:21:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T01:21:28","slug":"yankees-jasson-dominguez-tries-something-new-to-powerful-result-vs-lefty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/617716\/","title":{"rendered":"Yankees’ Jasson Dominguez tries ‘something new’ to powerful result vs. lefty"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEARWATER, Fla. \u2014 Jasson Dom\u00ednguez\u2019s first-inning at-bat against Tanner Banks on Tuesday featured a different result and a different swing than \u201cThe Martian\u201d had been accustomed<\/a> to against lefty pitching.<\/p>\n

The switch-hitter has struggled significantly against southpaws in his career, last year hitting just .204 with a .569 OPS and one home run in 104 plate appearances. <\/p>\n

But against Banks, he jumped on a 1-2 four-seamer on the inside part of the plate and launched it to left field for a home run.<\/p>\n

He jumped on the pitch, but his front foot did not jump. He took a step forward rather than the large leg kick he had displayed last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust trying to try something new,\u201d Dom\u00ednguez said after the 4-2 win over the Phillies at BayCare Ballpark. \u201cWhen you\u2019re doing bad, you\u2019re already at the bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps the lesser movement will help Dom\u00ednguez, who in all likelihood will have to prove himself against lefties \u2014 and righties, too \u2014 with Triple-A Scranton\/Wilkes-Barre<\/a> because the Yankees do not have an opening in the Opening Day outfield barring injury.<\/p>\n

It is also possible that simply getting more at-bats against lefties will be the key to unlocking his righty swing. <\/p>\n

He is a natural righty but only has logged a couple hundred plate appearances as a righty in his minor league career.<\/p>\n

Jasson Dominguez hits a solo home run in the first inning of the Yankees\u2019 4-2 spring training win over the Phillies at BayCare Ballpark on March 10, 2026. Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Jasson Dominguez celebrates after hitting a solo home run during the Yankees\u2019 spring training win over the Phillies. Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\u201cHe still controls the zone from that side. It\u2019s just continuing to get reps from that side,\u201d manager Aaron Boone said of Dom\u00ednguez \u2014 who overall is having a nice spring, going 10-for-30 with two homers, two steals and a .944 OPS. \u201cI feel like this spring \u2026 he\u2019s hit some balls hard for outs from that side of the plate as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s still a better left-handed hitter, but there\u2019s no reason to think that over time, the right side can\u2019t come up because he\u2019s got power on that side, he\u2019s got plate discipline, it\u2019s just a matter of continuing to gain experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked how many spots could be open in the bullpen, Boone said, \u201cTwo. Maybe one.\u201d<\/p>\n

That list of potential options includes Rule 5 draft pick Cade Winquest, who has had a rocky spring. If he doesn\u2019t stick on their major league roster for the entire season, he would be sent back to the Cardinals.<\/p>\n

But Boone said, \u201cFrankly, there have been mixed results for the guys in the mix for the last two spots. We\u2019ll see that play out a little bit. \u2026 There are opportunities for guys to grab it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

That list also includes Jake Bird, who has struggled. And Boone also mentioned right-hander Kervin Castro, who spent last year with SWB.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he can be a factor,\u201d Boone said of the 27-year-old. \u201cHe opened my eyes this spring, seeing him in person for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boone said Anthony Volpe\u2019s recovery from offseason labrum surgery is progressing, and the shortstop is scheduled to begin taking live at-bats in about three weeks.<\/p>\n

Anthony Volpe throws a ball during practice at Steinbrenner Field on Feb. 16, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/p>\n

The Yankees want Ben Rice to continue to focus on first base in Grapefruit League games, while catching occasional bullpens.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGo beyond the box score with the Bombers\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Boone saw Aaron Judge\u2019s strong one-hop throw from right field to third that resulted in an out Monday night in the WBC and thought it looked familiar.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s so under control and not in a hurry,\u201d Boone said of Judge, who dealt with a right flexor strain last season that prevented him from throwing at full strength. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEARWATER, Fla. \u2014 Jasson Dom\u00ednguez\u2019s first-inning at-bat against Tanner Banks on Tuesday featured a different result and a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617717,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2376],"tags":[5,3289,4,1690,62,2548,2547,185,151,142],"class_list":{"0":"post-617716","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-yankees","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-jasson-dominguez","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-yankees","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkyankees","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-spring-training","17":"tag-yankees"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116207923702281764","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}