In the Yankees' left field competition, Jason Dominguez's glove is putting him at a disadvantage.
While his bat and feet may be more impactful offensively than Alex Verdugo, his defense leaves a lot to be desired, and he made his latest costly mistake on Wednesday night in the Bronx against the Orioles.
In the bottom of the first inning, with the bases loaded and no outs, Colton Cowser hit a fly ball down the left field line that fell just behind Dominguez's glove and overran for a two-run single.
“There's no excuses,” Dominguez said, lamenting the fact that he forced Marcus Stroman to throw more balls in the innings in which he gave up three runs. “That ball should have been caught 100 percent.”
It was Dominguez's third fielding error in the past week, following two during the Seattle road trip when he dropped a ball to left field and misjudged a fly ball behind center field.
He will be traded to the Orioles on September 25, 2024. @TalkinYanks / Divorce
“He missed some plays he should have made,” coach Aaron Boone said. “His movement after the ball was good. He didn't look nervous.”
But it highlighted the conundrum facing the Yankees heading into October, when every out will matter: Do they prefer Dominguez's offense or Verdugo's defense?
“We're just trying to soak it all up here,” Boone said. “What's our best chance to win on any given night? Trying to give Jason good opportunities down the stretch. We know he's a talented player. We feel like he's had some good at-bats lately. We're going to continue to look at all of that.”
Dominguez is primarily a center fielder, but doesn't have much experience as a left fielder and has shown more hitting power and threat on the bases than Verdugo.
But after being booed on Tuesday night for his long-running offensive struggles, Verdugo proved to be a much more reliable left fielder.
“I feel like I can do it,” Dominguez said. “Obviously, there are things I need to work on, but if I put in more effort, I think I can get there.”
An elbow injury to Nestor Cortes paved the way for Cody Poteet to return to the Yankees, and the right-hander served as a mop-up pitcher on Wednesday, allowing just one run over 3 1/3 innings of relief.
Poteet performed well in four spot starts earlier this year, posting a 2.14 ERA before landing on the disabled list with a triceps injury.
He then used up all 30 days of his rehab assignment, making six starts between Double-A and Triple-A, before returning from the 60-day disabled list last week and being optioned to Triple-A.
“I'm very grateful,” Poteat said before Wednesday's loss. “This is something I've been preparing for since coming back from injury, so I want this opportunity. Now that my opportunity has come, I hope I can contribute in a good way.”
The Orioles were dealt a blow on Wednesday when manager Brandon Hyde announced that right-handed pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, who had been working his way back from injuries to his right shoulder and back, would not pitch this year.
Yankee Stadium will host two games of the Dominican Winter League exhibition series between longtime rivals Tigres del Lisay and Águilas Cibaeñas on Nov. 8 and 9.
