Aaron Boone said he expects Jasson Dominguez will be “a big part of things moving forward.” There is a good chance he will have to be. One of the most important wild cards for the 2025 season, as the Yankees stand in mid-November at least, revolves around Dominguez’s progress this winter and next spring.
Among the many step-ups that are possible, a Dominguez emergence would be enormous . If the Yankees manage to bring back Juan Soto — a dicey proposition considering the competition and historic contract — there would not be a ton of room for many reinforcements. FanGraphs is estimating the Yankees, as of today, project for a $245 million payroll for tax purposes in 2025.
Add Soto and his, say, $45 million per season, and the Yankees would have to be creative to import further while staying below the $301 million, final luxury-tax level that Hal Steinbrenner wants to limbo back under. So if there wouldn’t be much further help externally, it would need to come internally. And if Dominguez — still the organization’s No.
1 prospect and one of the most hyped teenage signings ever — can help, a few problems would be solved. The first problem: Among 41 qualified center fielders last season, Aaron Judge ranked 40th in Outs Above Average. His error in Game 5 of the World Series was a fluke; his downturn at the position over the course of a long season that he played at 32 years old likely was real.
The Yankees acquired Harrison Bader in 2022 in an effort to keep Judg.