The Yankees Player Most Likely to Be Traded This Offseason

The New York Yankees saw multiple players underperform during the 2026 season, most of whom were position players.

Trent Grisham and Jazz Chisholm Jr. both failed to recapture their 2025 form, while Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton spent a massive chunk of the season on the injured list. Yet another player didn't come close to meeting expectations.

Former top prospect Jasson Dominguez has been waiting to take that leap towards becoming New York's outfielder of the future. This past season may have been his greatest opportunity yet, especially after all three of the Yankees' Opening Day outfielders landed on the IL. Unfortunately, Dominguez responded with his biggest step backwards.

In addition to missing over a month with a shoulder injury, Dominguez struggled immensely at the plate and in the field.

"The Martian's" offensive production suddenly cratered, hitting just .225/.267/.368 with six home runs in 222 plate appearances. He was charged with three errors and a Fielding Run Value of -2 (per Baseball Savant). Ultimately, Dominguez was worth -0.2 fWAR, and that's not even the worst part of his season.

Jasson Dominguez was one of the worst hitters in the league against 4-seam fastballs, saw that pitch type more than double the amount of the 2nd highest usage thrown to him, and saw it increasingly more as the season went on.

He was 2nd lowest in the league in RV/100 against… pic.twitter.com/vjwejle3Ug
— Yankees Stats (@ChrisCoop_) November 6, 2026

Jasson Dominguez has effectively been replaced

Notably, after playing a career-high 123 Major League games in 2025, Dominguez played only 57 games in 2026. He ended up playing more games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (59) than with the Yankees. From August 4 to the end of the season, "The Martian" played in 30 Triple-A games and just four MLB games.

The reason for this? Dominguez was replaced by not one, but two outfielders. The trade deadline acquisition of Heliot Ramos, alongside Spencer Jones beginning to find his footing at the major league level, led to Dominguez's demotion to Triple-A on August 4.

Although the Yankees have claimed Jones isn't guaranteed a starting job on the 2027 roster as of now, Aaron Judge figures to be fully healthy by Spring Training. He and Cody Bellinger are guaranteed two of the three spots, and the third may go to Jones or an external acquisition. Meanwhile, Ramos is staring at a platoon role moving forward.

With the Yankees' current roster construction, there isn't any room for Dominguez unless he gets that third starting spot. And given how disastrous his 2026 season was, the chances of giving The Martian a starting job are slim to none, especially since the Yankees are trying to maximize a World Series window.

Dominguez may need a change of scenery to reach his potential

Despite being under team control until 2031, it seems more likely the Yankees will trade Dominguez than give him another shot. In that case, Dominguez figures to have more value than his poor 2026 season suggests.

Dominguez is just 23 years old, with four entire seasons of club control ahead of him. That combination of youth, roster flexibility, and MLB experience works greatly in his favor, as any interested team with an outfield vacancy will have ample time to develop the young outfielder into an everyday player or even the star the Yankees expect him to become.

First career 2-homer game ✅
First career 3-homer game ✅

Jasson Domínguez is out of this world! pic.twitter.com/ssyNNOiTto
— MLB (@MLB) May 10, 2025

To further justify Dominguez's use as a trade chip, reliable Yankee sources like Jack Curry believe the Bronx Bombers prefer to address their needs this winter through the trade route rather than free agency. Offering a former top prospect with untapped potential could be very enticing in a potential deal.

Of course, seeing Dominguez blossom into the player the Yankees envisioned would be a bitter pill to swallow. But given how New York's roster is currently assembled, it's unlikely he gets the opportunity to develop much more in the Bronx.

A change of scenery seems best for both parties. The Yankees will get the roster upgrades they need, and Dominguez will get the playing opportunities he deserves.

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