Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the team's top prospect, Jason Dominguez, will play “a lot.”
Boone did not say Dominguez would play every day.
The Yankees are trying to balance Dominguez, Alex Verdugo and much of the outfield/DH corps, with Dominguez being benched for the second time in three games on Friday night.
Verdugo started in left field against Boston right-hander Richard Fitts (who was a pinch hitter for right-hander Tanner Hack), and drew one of the game's biggest walks. Verdugo shared center field with Aaron Judge and right field with Juan Soto, and Giancarlo Stanton served as the designated hitter.
Boone said he expects Stanton to sit on the bench, Judge to be the designated hitter and Dominguez to play Saturday afternoon. He's trying to give everyone minutes, including Verdugo.
“We wanted to keep Dugie around,” Boone said of Verdugo, who continued to show signs of success in the Yankees' 5-4 comeback win over the Red Sox in the Bronx.
Verdugo and Dominguez have each made three starts since Dominguez was called up on Monday, and while Verdugo's minutes have decreased, they're clearly not going away completely.
After struggling through June, July and August, Verdugo reached base in 10 games in September and batted .286.
Verdugo didn't allow a hit on Friday but drew a key walk that sparked the Yankees' comeback in the seventh inning.
He lost 0-2 to Zach Kelly.
Verdugo fouled off the ball, then stared at it for four consecutive pitches.
Three batters later, Judge hit a game-winning grand slam.
“He's had some good at-bats the last few weeks,” Boone said of Verdugo. [at-bat]”That moment, especially before what Aaron did, was one of the big things in that inning.”
Dominguez is 21 years old and has great potential, but has only appeared in 12 career games. Since being promoted, he has two hits in 10 at-bats, one walk, two singles and four strikeouts.
Dominguez is a switch hitter, but is much stronger as a left-handed hitter.
“I just want to make sure our guys continue to play, stay active and stay in the best rhythm possible,” Boone said of the tightrope he's walking.
The Yankees said DJ LeMahieu, who was placed on the disabled list on Monday with a right hip contusion, received a cortisone injection on Thursday.
The team will wait a few days before re-evaluating the infielder.
Clark Schmidt allowed just two runs (on a two-run homer by Masahisa Yoshida) in 5 2/3 innings, becoming just the third pitcher in Yankees history to allow three or fewer runs in each of his first 13 starts of a season.
Schmidt has a 2.41 ERA.
About an hour before the first pitch, the Red Sox announced that Hoke experienced shoulder fatigue and that Fitts would make just the second career start.
The right-hander, a sixth-round pick by the Yankees in 2021 who acquired Verdugo in an offseason trade, held the Yankees to five innings, allowing just two hits and three walks.
Right-handed pitching prospect Clayton Bieter, who returned last week from a shoulder injury that had sidelined him since mid-May, has been moved from Double-A Somerset to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
In his two appearances for Somerset, Beter pitched three scoreless innings with five strikeouts.
