NEW YORK (AP) — The Martian is tracking down fly balls on Mother Earth.
Maligned for dubious defense when the New York Yankees first moved him to left field last year, Jasson Domínguez made their best catch of the early season when he robbed Salvador Perez of an extra-base hit in Monday night’s 4-1 win over the Kansas City Royals.
Domínguez's leaping, backhand grab at the warning track of Perez’s 106.4 mph, 347-foot drive had a 60% catch probability, according to MLB Statcast. That was the lowest of any Yankees catch this season.
“Got a good jump on it, the speed, the action of the ball,” Domínguez said. “At that point, you don’t even know how tough. You just come get it.”
He added a running catch to the glove side on the warning track of Jonathan India's 102.9 mph shot in the sixth.
“Those are two really good ones. What I like is the ease in the routes and the ease that he’s getting to those balls,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I feel like that’s where he’s really — even since the start of the season, I feel like he’s grown and just the right footwork, the right move to the ball, and that’s when you’re going to start to see his range with his speed show up.”
Nicknamed “El Marciano” as a teenager in the Dominican Republic for his out-of-this-world talent, Domínguez signed with the Yankees as a 16-year-old in 2019 for a $5.1 million bonus.
A center fielder as he moved through the minors, he made an instant impact at the plate two years ago. But following his shift to left, Domínguez's defensive struggles in left made highlight shows in 2024 and '25.
“He talks about winning a Gold Glove,” said Luis Rojas, the Yankees third base and outfield coach. “I think he has the tools to do it and we just got to keep working.”
The switch-hitting Domínguez was promoted to the Yankees on Sept. 1, 2023, and became the fifth-youngest player to homer in his first plate appearance, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He had four homers and seven RBIs in his first eight games, then tore a ligament in his right elbow and had Tommy John surgery that Sept. 20.
He returned to the minors last May 14, but was sidelined between June 15 and July 26 by an oblique strain and was limited to two homers and four RBIs in 18 late-season games with New York. He made 13 appearances in left field and four in center, and struggled to a minus-3 Outs Above Average, according to Statcast.
Domínguez reported early to spring training and worked on defense at the Yankees minor league complex with minor league outfield and infield coordinator Dan Fiorito and minor league infield and outfielder coordinator Ryan Hunt. Domínguez was criticized by Yankees fans when he lost Colt Keith's fly ball in the sun on Feb. 23 against Detroit, then let Andy Ibáñez's shot one inning later drop for an RBI scoring double. A ball by Philadelphia's Edmundo Sosa fell for an RBI double on Feb. 27.
“It didn't look great. There was a little noise about it,” Rojas said.
Adjusting to left was a slow process. Boone said Domínguez would be fine with time as he learned to judge balls.
“Left field is nothing like center field. Center field you get less action,” Rojas said. “The sound. The exit velo(city), those things, the more accurate he’s going to be with his reads and the routes and the angles that he needs to take to the ball according to a kind of action the ball is going have off the bat.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr. understood what Domínguez was going through. An All-Star second baseman in 2022, Chisholm was moved to center field by Miami from 2023 until he was traded last summer to the Yankees, who shifted him to third and then moved him back to second this spring training.
“You hear a crack of the bat and you might think it’s 110 miles per hour and it’s 86 miles per hour,” he said. “It's making that adjustment with your eyes and always being ready out there. I would say that and first step.”
Domínguez is hitting .229 with one homer and five RBIs. Boone has removed him for a defensive replacement or pinch hitter in five of 12 left-field starts.
Domínguez's Outs Above Average has improved to 0 this season and Monday's game boosted his defense from the 18th to 36th percentile. He's confident he will get better.
“I had a tough moment at first," Domínguez said, “but I knew with the reps it would be good.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Ronald Blum, The Associated Press
