Yankees Need Jasson Dominguez to Step Up After Disappointing Trent Grisham Update

New York needs the 23-year-old switch-hitter to take his game to the next level after the latest injury news.

The latest Trent Grisham injury update has opened the door for Jasson Domínguez to prove his worth to the Yankees. | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

The Yankees' outfield suffered rough news over the weekend when Trent Grisham was placed on the 10-day injured reserve with a hamstring strain. Although it was a rough start to the year for the 29-year-old center fielder, Grisham's presence will be missed after impressively slashing .290/373/.473 with four home runs, 19 RBIs, 18 walks and five stolen bases in his last 36 games, highlighting the void in manager Aaron Boone's lineup.

Yankees fans hoping to see Grisham experience a quick recovery were left disappointed on Tuesday, though. Hours before the series opener against the White Sox, Boone told the "Talkin' Yanks" podcast that he anticipates Grisham will miss "a few weeks."

"I don't think it's going to be a 10-day (stint); I think it's going to be more than that. I think it's going to be weeks," Boone said. "So, we'll see. It's been at least encouraging how he's responded here to these first couple of days and that he's been able to continue to move. But I do think it's going to be at least a few weeks."

Aaron Boone says the Yankees will stay aggressive with ABS

7:15 Boone joins the show
11:45 Dominguez
17:35 Fried
18:10 Caballero's pitch clock antics
23:35 Grisham injury
25:28 ABS approach + Jazz's challenge
35:10 Be careful with Grichuk pic.twitter.com/APlKl0OZ2g

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 16, 2026

Boone sounded fairly confident that Grisham won't be returning anytime soon. With the MLB All-Star Break approaching in a month, the Yankees might want to just let the Burleson, TX native heal up until mid-July before rejoining the squad for the second-half push.

In the meantime, though, Grisham's ongoing absence could open the door for Jasson Domínguez to prove his worth to the Yankees.

Spotlight is back on Jasson Dominguez with Trent Grisham set to miss time

The 2026 season has been a rollercoaster ride for Domínguez, to say the least. Despite playing 149 games over the three previous campaigns, the switch-hitting outfielder started the year with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, needing to prove himself before receiving another big-league opportunity.

A strong start with the RailRiders forced the Yankees to give Domínguez a shot in late April; however, it didn't last long. He only played nine games before crashing into the outfield wall at Yankee Stadium during a 9-2 victory over the Rangers on May 7, resulting in a left shoulder injury that forced Domínguez out of action for over a month.

He's now dealing with a pulled tooth, per Boone, but it seems to be a minor issue that won't keep him out for long, if at all.

All eyes are on Jasson Domínguez now that he's recovered from the shoulder injury sustained in his collision with the outfield wall at Yankee Stadium. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Since (hopefully) putting his shoulder injury behind him, Domínguez has played two games with the Yankees—both in right field—going 2-for-8 (.250) with one home run, a double, an RBI and a walk against the rival Blue Jays over the weekend. He now has two HRs, five RBIs and two walks with a .211/.268/.447 slash line in 11 games (38 at-bats) so far.

In an ideal world, Domínguez will capitalize on the time that Grisham will miss to prove to the Yankees that he deserves to stick around for the long haul. He likely won't start when the trio of Grisham, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger are healthy and playing together, but that doesn't mean that Domínguez can't solidify himself as the de facto next man up with a strong performance in the coming weeks.

The signs are there that Domínguez can live up to his potential to help with the Yankees' season-long aspirations. For starters, he has a .552 slugging percentage and .842 OPS in his last eight outings, and while that's a small sample size, it shows that he's feeling more at-home at the MLB level compared to 2025, when he slugged .388 with a .719 OPS across 123 games.

Furthermore, Domínguez's .289 expected batting average, 91.4 mph average exit velocity, 28.6% square-up rate and 14.6% strikeout percentage are closer to being great than average on Baseball Savant.

JASSON DOMINGUEZ HOMERS IN HIS FIRST GAME BACK! pic.twitter.com/YgjLSazONA

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 13, 2026

And while Domínguez has only played in left and right field for the Yankees this season, he has experience in the middle of the mix, too. He played 107 innings in center field for New York in 2023 and 2024, as well as 2,022 2/3 innings in the minors—more than three times as much as his next-most frequent position (RF, 667 innings). His combination of speed and stellar arm strength should make him a viable short-term Grisham replacement.

Hopefully, Domínguez can stay healthy and make the most of this opportunity. It's his first real chance at having a defined role for a long stretch this season, and successfully stepping up would leave the Yankees with one less thing to worry about heading into the summer. He's only 23 years old, so it's far too early to write him off, but a strong run into the All-Star break would at least show Boone & Co. that he can be a legitimate MLB contributor.

It's time for Domínguez to prove that he belongs in the Yankees' day-to-day plans, even after Grisham returns.