The New York Yankees desperately need to salvage their finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday Night Baseball. They also desperately need to escape intact and healthy.
Two years ago, Aaron Judge secured a clutch win for the Yankees by running full-speed into the wall in right-center field. Unfortunately, his toe snagged the concrete below the fence, which ultimately knocked him out for a season-changing stretch with recurring pain. In this particular series, with the Yankees still winless, it was star rookie outfielder Jasson Dominguez who rammed up against the equipment and lost the battle.
Cody Bellinger, who often replaces Dominguez defensively, instead pinch hit for the slugger in the top of the sixth inning. This came after Dominguez was seen shaking out his hand after a stolen base attempt in his previous appearance at the dish.
Was this a defensive adjustment a few innings early, or something worse? The tension rose when Boone was caught on camera telling the home plate umpire, “We have an injury” prior to replacing Dominguez with Bellinger.
Shortly thereafter, as panic spread, the press box announced the truth: a “left thumb contusion” for Dominguez. Could take a little while. Could not! Doesn’t seem quite as stressful as it seemed at first blush when the hand awkwardly hit the bag.
Yankees’ Jasson Dominguez exits Sunday Night Baseball vs. Dodgers with left thumb contusion
The Yankees will surely address Dominguez’s prognosis in the postgame, but if the severity really is only contusion-level, then it makes sense for Boone to take the bat out of his rookie’s hands and get their late-inning alignment set a little early. There’s no reason to try to force him to fight through the pain, especially with an off day on Monday and a premium replacement behind him.
If Dominguez’s injury necessitates an IL trip, Judge, Bellinger, and Trent Grisham will likely comprise the outfield daily, with Ben Rice absorbing close to 100% of the DH reps, outside of designated rest days. Everson Pereira, one of the Yankees’ final spring training cuts, is hitting .275 with nine home runs and an .897 OPS at Triple-A, and would be a likely replacement on the roster.
