In an event centered around youth, the Yankees added a splash of it with a special guest for the Little League Classic — if only for a day.
Jasson Dominguez was called up to join the club on Sunday as its 27th man for the showcase game against the Tigers at Bowman Field.
The switch-hitter went right into the lineup, batting fifth and starting in left field against lefty Tarik Skubal, though the plan was for him to head right back to Triple-A after the game.
Jasson Dominguez, pictured in September 2023, will be the Yankees’ 27th man for Sunday’s game.
“Every time I come up here, it’s a blessing,” Dominguez said. “It’s an honor to be here. I’m happy to be here to play this game and happy to be in the lineup.”
Teams get to add an extra player to their roster for special-event games during the season, which Sunday was, paving the way for Dominguez to be with the Yankees for the first time this year after he was set back by Tommy John surgery last fall and an oblique strain this summer.
Jasson Dominguez is pictured during the Yankees’ spring training.
“With an off day [Monday], Skubal going, I just felt like getting another right-handed bat in there,” said manager Aaron Boone, who had left-handed hitting outfielders Alex Verdugo and Trent Grisham on the bench. “Obviously having the luxury of having the 27th man for this game, felt like it made some sense.”
Fans have been clamoring for Dominguez to get called up, especially with Verdugo in the midst of a brutal slump for the better part of two months. But Boone made it clear that barring something unexpected, Dominguez would be up for just one day.
Yankees left fielder Jasson Dominguez catches a fly ball by Detroit Tigers’ Parker Meadows for the out during the first inning of the Little League Classic baseball game at Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pa., Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024.
“He’s always an option,” Boone said. “Feel like here over the last week or so, he’s started to swing the bat better and gotten it going again. So hopefully he can continue to build on that and continue to push himself into the conversation.”
The 21-year-old Dominguez provided a spark last September, hitting four home runs in eight games, but then tore his UCL and needed Tommy John surgery that delayed his 2024 season.
After his rehab assignment, the Yankees optioned him to Triple-A , where he strained his oblique just before there would have been an opportunity for him in the big leagues when Giancarlo Stanton got injured.
Overall, Dominguez was batting .280 with a .766 OPS in 26 games at Triple-A.
Asked when he thought he might be up for good, Dominguez smiled.
“I wish I had an answer for that question, but I really don’t,” he said. “That’s something I can’t control. It is what it is. I just focus on playing and doing my job. That part is not my job.”
