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MLB, Baseball Herren, USA New York Yankees at Houston Astros Sep 3, 2023 Houston, Texas, USA New York Yankees center fielder Jasson Dominguez 89 celebrates with designated hitter Aaron Judge 99 after hitting a home run during the sixth inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Houston Minute Maid Park Texas USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xTroyxTaorminax 20230903_tjt_at5_046
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MLB, Baseball Herren, USA New York Yankees at Houston Astros Sep 3, 2023 Houston, Texas, USA New York Yankees center fielder Jasson Dominguez 89 celebrates with designated hitter Aaron Judge 99 after hitting a home run during the sixth inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Houston Minute Maid Park Texas USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xTroyxTaorminax 20230903_tjt_at5_046
Jasson Dominguez took hopes of a better 2023 New York Yankees season when he had to undergo Tommy John surgery after just eight MLB games. The surgery that fixed a torn UCL has rendered Dominguez unable to appear for almost half of the next season. While no return date is certain, the team is forced to look elsewhere for temporary replacements for the Martian’s post.
The Pinstripes recently acquired massive outfield upgrades by clinching Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo in the offseason trades. Considering Trent Grisham and Aaron Judge in the mix, here is a statistical comparison between Verdugo and Grisham to see who will fit the Dominguez bill. Will they allow the club to power up left-field spots?
Grisham vs. Verdugo: Next best thing to the New York Yankees’ Martian
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For his last full season back in the minors, Jasson Dominguez hit .265 with 15 homers and 76 RBIs in 118 games. His OPS clocked at .802 with 121 hits in total, according to Baseball Reference. Considering that, Verdugo reached quite close this season with an OPS of .745 posting .264 BA and 13 homers with 54 RBIs in a total of 144 hits across 142 games.
Juan Soto (35), Trent Grisham (13), and Alex Verdugo (13) combined for more left-handed home runs in 2023 than the #Yankees as a team (55)
It's clear the Yankees were looking for left-handed position players, and they're going to look a lot different in 2024 offensively. #NYY pic.twitter.com/F9E6yKkuKj
— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) December 6, 2023
Comparatively, Grisham almost goes head to head with Verdugo with his home run score of 13 and 50 RBIs with 93 hits across 153 games. However, his hits went lower at just .198 with an OPS of .666. Grisham struck out 154 times, with one chance to score a triple hit, while Verdugo had a much lower strikeout rate, standing at 93 with 5 triples. Verdugo also hit a higher OPS+ of 100 compared to Grisham’s 87, which makes him better at offense.
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For the defensive side of things, Grisham boasts a Gold Glove-level performance. Even so, Verdugo beats him with an OAA of 1 to Grisham’s 7. Their DRS and UZR capped off at 9/1 and 10.6/4.3 respectively, per FanGraphs.
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Looks like Verdugo will be the perfect replacement for the Martian’s post. At least until he returns sometime in the bottom half of 2024. However, Dominguez is only part of the New York Yankees outfield puzzle. Their options for the right, center, and left field are still up for speculation.
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Read More: What Does the New York Yankees Rotation Look Like After Yoshinobu Yamamoto Signed With the Dodgers?
For right and center field, the New York Yankees have Juan Soto and Aaron Judge as the perfect puzzle pieces to take the helm. They just need one more slugger to fit their left-field lineup. Should Giancarlo Stanton manage to get back in shape before mid-2024, he will be able to fill the spot. Before relying on the newbies, can the Bombers trust their veterans?
