NEW YORK The highly anticipated return of Jasson Domínguez to the Yankees could occur on Sunday when rosters are expanded.

That’s how he was added to the team’s active roster the year before he made his Major League debut.

Nevertheless, the Yankees may decide not to utilize Domínguez as a replacement for him merely because there is a position player opening on September 1.

Before the team’s series opening against the Cardinals on Friday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was questioned about Domínguez and September call-ups. He left the door open to a couple possible options.

Boone stated, “He’s definitely one of those guys that will be in the conversation for that.” “Although he recovered from the injury a little slowly, I think he’s doing a great job.” It seems as though he has been putting together a few days of solid practice and skill at bats. He is undoubtedly a name to keep in mind.

After undergoing Tommy John surgery earlier this summer, Domínguez completed his extensive rehabilitation; nonetheless, he encountered an oblique strain in June. After roughly six weeks, he resumed participating in the game. With Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the outfielder has since hit.267 (27-for-111) with a.719 OPS in 25 games. But lately, he’s been becoming more intense. As of Friday afternoon, Domínguez has batted.380 (19-for-55) with a 1.016 OPS in his past 12 games.

The 21-year-old received a one-day promotion earlier this month when he batted as the Yankees’ 27th man on August 18 against the Tigers in the Little League Classic. Domínguez was 0-for-4 and had three strikeouts in that game, which ended in a walk-off loss to Detroit.

The Yankees’ issue in left field could be one of the reasons they decide not to select Domínguez on September 1. Despite Alex Verdugo’s dismal offensive performance this season, the Yankees have shown that they are committed to playing him in a regular capacity.

Verdugo has also improved his bat-swinging recently, hitting.421 over his last five games. This is a short sample, so it’s a low bar to use here for reasoning, but it follows a period of time during which Verdugo was among the worst hitters in baseball for more than three months. Verdugo batted.209 with a.579 OPS and 62 wRC+ in 384 plate appearances between May 8 and August 23.

Boone hinted on Friday that Domínguez won’t likely be called up by the Yankees to sit on the bench. The likelihood of Domínguez being called up will drop if Verdugo continues to heat up.

He remarked, “We’ll see, but we probably want him playing.” “We’ll see when everything is in the right order, taking into account the circumstances and other factors as well.”

The presence of too many rehabbers is another obstacle to a Domínguez promotion.

First baseman Anthony Rizzo (fractured forearm) could be activated from the 60-day disabled list this weekend if he survives another rehab assignment game against Double-A Somerset on Friday night.

Although he won’t be ready to play again until next week due to a calf strain, infielder Jon Berti is getting very close.

Ben Rice, the first baseman, could be kept on the roster as a backup bat until Berti is cleared to play, and the Yankees could simply wait until Sunday to activate Rizzo. After his rehab is finished, Berti will need to be added back to the active roster because he does not have any minor-league choices. In any case, it appears that Rice will return to Triple-A in the coming days.

Domínguez does not need to clear any additional hoops to join the 40-man roster; nonetheless, it is unlikely that he will be promoted to play backup roles until the Yankees decide to reduce Verdugo’s playing time.

Upon being directly questioned about whether Domínguez will be called up on Sunday, Boone avoided the question.

He answered, “I don’t know, we’ll see.” “We haven’t chosen to do it yet. Thus, I’m not sure.

 

Choosing the Top 10 Items Added Before the Trade Deadline.

Before this season’s July 30 Trade Deadline, more than 60 trades were completed, with 32 of those deals being completed on Deadline day alone.

Which players have done the best with their new teams after a month? In addition to ranking the top 10, we also included a few honorable mentions.

1. Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Aaron Judge and Juan Soto have supported the Yankees’ offense for the most of the season. Although they have always been a fantastic combination, a lineup can only be as strong as its two players. The Bronx Bombers tied for the greatest wRC+ in the Majors until July 27 with 116. However, the hitters for them who batted outside of the Nos. 2 and 3 spots—which have virtually exclusively belonged to the MVP contenders—compiled a 91 wRC+. This team needed another strong hitter.

Enter Chisholm, who was acquired on the same day and immediately set out to rewrite the history of the Yanks by hitting seven home runs in his first 12 games with the team—a franchise record. Chisholm has been a steady force for New York, despite an injured left elbow that sidelined him for ten days during his stint. Since making his Yankees debut, he has hit nine home runs, stolen five bases, and his 1.029 OPS (with at least 80 plate appearances) is good for seventh in the major leagues.

2. Royals’ Paul DeJong
It’s one thing for expensive additions to stick out in new team colors. It is expected that they will make significant progress right away. On the other hand, DeJong arrived in Kansas City quietly. He was exchanged for an unsung prospect in a one-for-one deal. The anticipation? In 108 games, the Royals had only hit seven home runs and had a.351 slugging percentage at third base. Perhaps he would offer them more pop there.

He has undoubtedly accomplished that. After eight years, the veteran has played in 21 games for Kansas City, slugging.563 and hitting five home runs. In addition, his.281 average and 15% barrel rate are far higher than what he achieved in 102 games with the White Sox (9.6% and.228, respectively). The Royals have the greatest OPS in the American League with a.808 OPS since DeJong arrived on July 31, but correlation does not imply causation.

3. Astros’ Yusei Kikuchi
With Houston, Kikuchi has reduced his curveball and increased the emphasis on his slider, and the outcomes have been outstanding. With around two and a half extra inches of vertical drop on the pitch, Kikuchi has finished 43 at-bats with the Astros with 16 strikeouts and only four hits allowed. His strikeout rate has increased from 26.4% to 31% overall, and this month, his 25.5% squared-up rate (minimum 150 competitive swings) ties for ninth place among 103 pitchers.

When Kikuchi arrived in Houston, the Astros rotation was completely dismantled. However, with him stepping up, Justin Verlander returning to health, and rookie Spencer Arrighetti showing promise, it appears that the Astros rotation has what it takes to make another long run in October.

4. Braves’ Jorge Soler
Like any good horror movie villain, the Braves never stop attacking you, no matter how much damage they take. On August 18, Atlanta lost slugger Austin Riley to a fractured right hand, adding to the absence of second baseman Ozzie Albies and reigning National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. Despite this, the Braves are leading the race for the last NL Wild Card by three games and have won 12 of their last 17.

Although the pitching staff is deserving of much of the credit for their NL-best 2.75 ERA since August 11, Soler’s five home runs and.820 OPS in his second season with the team have helped fill the gaps in the lineup. Although Soler, the Braves’ 2021 World Series MVP, is still mostly a feast-or-famine hitter, his 15 walks have contributed to a strong.358 on-base percentage.

5. Zach Eflin of the Orioles
If it weren’t for a flare-up of inflammation in his right shoulder on August 20, which required a trip to the disabled list, Eflin would probably be higher on this list. Before getting hurt, the seasoned right-hander had a 2.13 ERA in four starts over 25 1/3 innings with 25 strikeouts and two walks. With Baltimore, Eflin’s cutter was his most used pitch, and it proved to be particularly potent as hitters only managed three hits (all singles) and thirteen strikeouts against it.

For the pitching-starved O’s, who are already without starters Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells, and John Means for the remainder of 2024, the 30-year-old was nothing short of a godsend. It might take Grayson Rodriguez until late September to recover from his lat strain. Good news, though, is that Eflin’s stint in the minor leagues looks to be brief, and he might return to the mound on Sunday against the Rockies.

6. Dodgers’ Jack Flaherty
About 27 years have passed since Flaherty last played for the Dodgers. Flaherty, a native of Southern California, has pitched 28 1/3 innings with a 3.49 ERA, 34 strikeouts, and seven walks. Flaherty’s 26.3% K-BB% is still second in MLB, behind only NL Cy Young favorite Chris Sale, despite not being as good in Los Angeles as it was in Detroit.

With his finest complete season since 2019, Flaherty has exceeded expectations every step of the way and is expected to be a key member of a Dodgers staff that will be subjected to extreme pressure come postseason time. Like Kikuchi and Eflin, he has significantly improved the injured rotation.

7. Dodgers’ Michael Kopech
We had a few options for relievers to include on this list. For the D-backs, A.J. Puk has been outstanding. Lucas Erceg pitched 12 1/3 scoreless innings to start his Royals career. Tanner Scott, Bryan Hoeing, and Jason Adam are the Padres’ three options. But we’ll remain in Los Angeles and shift our focus from the rotation to the pen, where Kopech has excelled while wearing Dodger blue.

In 13 1/3 innings, the 28-year-old has allowed one run on three hits while striking out 19 of the 45 batters he has faced. The OPS of his opponents is a pitiful.231. However, 6.7% is the most significant figure for Kopech. His walk rate in Dodgertown is that. For a pitcher who generated a 13.3% walk rate over 293 1/3 frames from the start of 2022 to July 30, this is a huge improvement.

8. Josh Bell of the D-backs
Bell was traded from Cleveland to Miami last year, yet he was included on this same list. He was in the midst of an offensive surge this year when he left Miami, hitting five home runs in his final nine games before relocating to the desert on July 30. With his new team, the D-backs, Bell continued to rake, batting.300 in his first 12 games with eight extra-base hits and a 1.012 OPS.

After then, Bell’s bat has quieted down (he has a.541 OPS and hasn’t collected an extra-base hit in his last 12 games), but the switch-hitter did a great job filling in for Christian Walker at first base when the latter’s oblique strain prevented him from playing. With Walker getting closer to making a comeback, Bell appears to be a valuable backup in the greatest scoring offense in MLB.

9. Brewers’ Frankie Montas
On July 3, the Brewers acquired righty starter Aaron Civale from the Rays in what may be regarded as their first trade of the Trade Deadline season. Just on Thursday, he had his greatest start for Milwaukee. However, Montas, the Brewers’ second addition to the rotation, has performed marginally better.

After being acquired from Cincinnati on July 30, Montas has increased his game, possibly inspired by being a part of a winning squad. With every pitch, he now pitches with a velocity of almost 1 mph more. His strikeout rate has increased by roughly the same amount (19.2% to 24.3%), while his barrel rate has decreased by nearly five percentage points (8.8% to 3.9%). Through 27 innings, Montas has held opponents to a.216/.278/.304 slash line, and the Brewers are 4-1 when he takes the mound.

10. Padre Martín Pérez
If the Padres are healthy going into the postseason, Pérez most likely won’t have a spot in the rotation. The left-hander is, nevertheless, making every effort to guarantee San Diego’s spot in the postseason. Since joining the Pirates on July 30, he has made five starts (26 2/3 innings) and has a 2.70 ERA and a.220 opponents’ batting average.

Pérez has thrown a lot more curveballs since moving to the West Coast; with the Padres, he is throwing them 28.5% of the time, which is higher than any other time in his 13-year career and a lot higher than when he was with Pittsburgh (10.4%). Until opponents figure out how to stop Pérez, there will be a lot more massive benders from him. In 33 plate appearances, his curveball has held hitters to a.156 average and a.338 OPS during his five starts.

Special mentions

Connor Norby, Marlins: With six extra-base hits in his first six games, the 24-year-old rookie set a Marlins record. He’s making cuts.13 runs scored through 10 games with Miami, putting him at 350/.422/.650.

Will Wagner, Blue Jays: In 14 games with the Blue Jays, Wagner is hitting.304 with an.811 OPS. He was a part of the three-player package Toronto acquired from Houston for Kikuchi. On Tuesday, he hit his first major league home run.