This Yankee Should Not Be Moved Unless It’s For The Right Price

This Yankee Should Not Be Moved Unless It’s For The Right Price

By Derek McAdam

January 6, 2026

***

Alas! It has been approximately two and a half months since my last column, and yet the Yankees have accomplished the same amount of tasks today compared to late October. Their only signings have been depth pieces and bringing back Trent Grisham on the qualifying offer, which the Yankees certainly did not expect him to accept. But again, who could blame Grisham for accepting $22 million for a one-year deal? Sign me up for that!

But now that the new year has begun, it seems as if the Yankees are becoming more involved in trade talks and free agency discussions. Free agent-wise, they have reportedly submitted multiple offers to Cody Bellinger, which is a very odd report to make and seems as if it is more Scott Boras propaganda. The Yankees have also reportedly looked at Bo Bichette as a backup option if they cannot bring Bellinger back, opting to likely play him at second base, which could potentially result in Jazz Chisholm Jr. being traded.

In the trade market, the Yankees have also been linked to several starting pitchers, specifically Miami’s Edward Cabrera and Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta. Barring an extension, Peralta would be seen as a one-year rental for the Yankees, but would instantly be a top starter in the rotation to begin the season. However, Cabrera has three years of team control through 2028 and will be seen as a middle rotation pitcher for the Yankees.

However, Cabrera will definitely draw higher prospects for his services. But I have seen from many Yankee fans that they would not be surprised if the Yankees would include an MLB-ready player in the deal. And the one name that I have seen multiple times is Jasson Dominguez. If the Yankees trade Dominguez for Cabrera, I see this as a major failure on their behalf.

It seems that after his first full season in the majors, the Yankees are already prepared to give up on Dominguez. Grisham is going to be starting in center field for most of next season, despite coming off his worst defensive season of his MLB career. And if the Yankees bring Bellinger back, he will likely be starting in left field, although there is the option of him sharing first base with Ben Rice.

Additionally, some Yankee reporters such as Bryan Hoch believe that Spencer Jones can make the team out of Spring Training and get significant playing time early on, which would cut into Dominguez’s time as he would likely be the odd one out. But I personally am not ready for the Yankees to give up on Dominguez just yet, because I do not feel as if he has been given a fair shot.

First, Dominguez will be turning 23 in February. Aaron Judge would not be making his MLB debut until he was 24, so Dominguez is already ahead of the game in that regard. He also came up as a centerfielder and made the shift to left field in order to accommodate Bellinger, until Grisham began playing daily. Many have said that left field at Yankee Stadium is much tougher than in most ballparks, so this was definitely a learning experience for the youngster. No, he was not great in left field, but he cannot improve if he does not play.

At the plate, Dominguez hit .257 with 10 home runs and stole 23/28 bases during the season. The batting average also began to drop some when he was not playing everyday and had sporadic at-bats, so I will cut him more slack there. He clearly brought speed to the team, something that they don’t have much of besides Dominguez and Chisholm.

Dominguez is also a switch hitter who hit much better left-handed than he did right. But as the season went on, Dominguez would sit the bench if a left-handed pitcher was starting for the opposition. Yes, his stats from batting right-handed were not good, but they also did not allow him to gain experience at the plate. Maybe he worked on it during batting practice and in the cages, but live-game experience is what truly allows players to develop.

It does not make much sense to me that the Yankees would want to move on from Dominguez so quickly when he was barely given much time to spread his wings. Anthony Volpe has been at the major league level for three seasons and has regressed after each year. Yet he continues to get opportunities time and time again despite being an average shortstop at best (and I’m being very generous in saying that).

The Yankees spent $5.1 million of their $5.4 million international allotment funds in 2019 to bring Dominguez to New York. He has been one of the Yankees’ most-hyped prospects in a very long time and deserves some patience from the team.

I must disclose that I am not against trading Dominguez if it means they can acquire someone like Tarik Skubal from the Tigers or Paul Skenes from the Pirates. If that means giving up Dominguez for the reigning AL/NL Cy Young Award winners, go for it! But for someone such as Cabrera, who has dealt with his share of injuries throughout his career, this is not the time to trade Dominguez. And it is very possible that the Yankees have no plans on trading Dominguez for Cabrera, which I hope is the case.

But they have to be smart if they plan on trading him, because I believe Dominguez is going to develop into a fine baseball player. It just may not be the Yankees who will witness him do that on their team, but I hope I am proven wrong.