Yankees prospect Jasson Domínguez was looking to return to the majors after needing Tommy John surgery late last season, but he's suffered a setback with an oblique injury. On Thursday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Domínguez is expected to miss about eight weeks.
Domínguez suffered the injury while trying to check a swing on Saturday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Remember, Domínguez debuted last season at age 20 and homered in his first career plate appearance -- against Justin Verlander, too. He would hit .258/.303/.677 with a double, four homers, seven RBI and six runs in eight games before tearing the UCL in his elbow and needing to undergo Tommy John surgery.
Heading into this spring, R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports ranked Domínguez as the 30th-best prospect in all of baseball. Domínguez needed months of recovery from the surgery, of course, but returned to Triple-A action on June 4 after four games in Class A and 10 in Double-A. In his nine Triple-A games, Domínguez was 14 for 36 (.389) with three doubles, two home runs and two steals.
Assuming Aaron Judge is fine after getting hit with a pitch in the left hand (and his return to the lineup Thursday implies he is), the Yankees don't have an immediate spot for Domínguez on the roster anyway. Juan Soto is locked into right field with Judge in center and Alex Verdugo in left. Plus, Giancarlo Stanton has stayed healthy in the DH spot.
Still, there was always the chance one of those players went down with an injury and another eight weeks of absence hurts the potential for improvements in Domínguez's game in the short term. Thus, it is a blow to the Yankees' organization, even if one that isn't immediately seen.
