I Feel Like The Yankees Will Trade Jasson Dominguez This Season

It’s a gut feeling, nothing more.

What I have noticed is that the New York Yankees have become incredibly good at one thing over the past decade: marketing prospects like they’re blockbuster movie premieres. Development? Well… that part sometimes feels like it happens after the merchandise orders are placed.

Enter Jasson Domínguez, better known as “The Martian,” a nickname that the Yankees’ marketing department embraced with the enthusiasm of a kid discovering a new toy. Martian jerseys, viral highlights, breathless hype—Domínguez wasn’t just a prospect, he was practically a brand.

And yet, barely a few seasons later, I feel like there’s a very real chance the Yankees could trade him.

Start with the roster mess they created. Aaron Judge obviously isn’t moving from the outfield. The Yankees then handed a massive contract to Cody Bellinger, effectively locking up another spot. Defensive specialist Trent Grisham is around, and the designated hitter role still belongs to Giancarlo Stanton whenever he’s upright and swinging.

So, the once-untouchable Domínguez suddenly looks like the odd man out. I would rather him in the outfield and Grisham off the bench, but Boone uses him as a lead off, so no chance of that.

It doesn’t help that Jasson’s defense in left field has been shaky, posting ugly metrics that make a supposedly defense-conscious organization nervous. Meanwhile, his bat still has questions—especially after struggling against right-handed pitching last season. That being said, Dominguez is making a huge argument to keep him around this spring. The dude’s raking and impressing, but so is Spencer Jones and as you can see from Jones being sent down the minors this week, you can be a Babe Ruth hitting prospect and it doesn’t matter. 

But my point is, the marketing if too much, overhyped.  All of this creates the perfect storm: a team desperate to win during Judge’s prime, a crowded outfield, and a still-valuable prospect whose reputation might be worth more on the trade market than on the roster.

If the Yankees do move Domínguez, it’ll be another classic Bronx storyline—build the hype, sell the jerseys, then trade the player before the development is finished. And if the Martian eventually becomes a star somewhere else, Yankees fans will probably watch those highlights and wonder why the organization that hyped him the loudest didn’t have the patience to actually let him become great.

See that word? Patience.  They do it with dud Volpe. Why not do it for a guy like Dominguez?