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TAMPA — The Jasson Domínguez experiment in left field isn’t going anywhere, even if the 22-year-old still doesn’t look all that comfortable at the position.
“He hasn’t played a lot of left,’’ general manager Brian Cashman said before Domínguez got another start there Thursday in an 8-4 loss to the Twins at Steinbrenner Field. “My impressions [of him] are that he’s gonna get the reps he needs to secure that spot.”
Cashman noted that Aaron Boone is “running him out there as much as possible” during spring training and that Domínguez spent time working on his defense with Bernie Williams — in camp as an instructor — prior to Thursday’s game.
And while the results have been mixed for Domínguez, both in the latter part of last season — when he shifted to left for the first time in the majors — as well as this spring, Cashman isn’t prepared to make any calls on how he’s doing.
“Don’t judge too much early in the camp with any of these guys,’’ Cashman said when asked about Domínguez’s progress. “The last three weeks [of spring], you hone in on what’s real and make decisions.”
There’s no sign the Yankees are contemplating an alignment other than the one they had when they entered spring training, with Domínguez in left, Cody Bellinger in center and Aaron Judge in right.
Domínguez hit seventh Thursday, and after the game, Boone didn’t rule out that being where he hits in the regular season.
On defense, Domínguez made a fine running catch in the gap in left-center and has said he’s feeling more comfortable there, but scouts remain skeptical about his overall game at this point.
Having gone hitless against Minnesota, Domínguez is 4-for-23 with a homer, a walk and six strikeouts in eight Grapefruit League games
He played a combined 47 games in left in 2023, split between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, before 11 more at SWB last season and 12 starts in left with the Yankees late in the season.
Cashman made clear that Domínguez is going to get plenty more chances the rest of the spring, which he hopes leads to a start there on Opening Day.
“There’s a lane for him to take it and I’d love for him to take the opportunity,’’ Cashman said.
But no roster decisions have been made, he added.
“We’re letting this thing play out and we’ll see who stays healthy and earns a spot,’’ the GM said.