Yankees Reveal Jasson Dominguez Injury Diagnosis With Timeline Unclear

The New York Yankees delivered some additional injury news that got lost in the shuffle after team captain Aaron Judge’s hit by pitch scare on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone informed reporters that top prospect outfielder Jasson Dominguez has a moderate oblique strain. There is no timetable for his return at the moment, so the promising young slugger is out indefinitely.

Typically, an oblique strain can take up to 6-8 weeks to recover from, depending on the severity. Since Boone called the injury a “moderate strain,” it is possible that Dominguez will be out for at least the next month or more.

This is a tough break for Dominguez, who came back from Tommy John surgery this season and was raking in the minor leagues. In 23 games between three levels of the minors, Dominguez was slashing .356/.404/.609 with a 1.013 OPS, six home runs and 13 RBIs. And in nine games at Triple-A Scranton, the lefty swinger was hitting .389/.405/.639 with a 1.044 OPS and two homers.

As impressive as Dominguez has been, there was no room for him at the major league level this season with Judge, Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo and Trent Grisham (backup center fielder) occupying the Yankees’ outfield.

However, the Yankees recently avoided two injury scares with Judge and Soto. If a starting outfielder were to get hurt and be forced to miss time, Dominguez would have likely been called-up to play on a daily basis; but now that is no longer an option.

The Yankees do have top prospect outfielder Spencer Jones at Double-A Somerset, but he still needs more time to develop in the minors. Jones, 23, is having a down campaign in Double-A, as he is only slashing .242/.328/.384 with a .712 OPS, six homers and 32 RBIs in 53 games.