For the third game in a row, Giancarlo Stanton was the Yankees’ starting right fielder on Wednesday night.
And for the third game in a row, Jasson Domínguez was out of the lineup.
Even with Aaron Judge restricted to DH duty as he recovers from a flexor strain in his right elbow, Domínguez has received less playing time in the Yankees’ crowded outfield of late.
“I’m just trying to match it up the best we can and, obviously, trying to do all we can to win every game,” manager Aaron Boone said before Wednesday’s series finale against the Minnesota Twins in the Bronx.
“J.D.’s a big part of it. I know it’s been now a few days he hasn’t played. It’s a little snapshot in a long season. He could be the most central figure in the next game.”
The Yankees have navigated a surplus of outfielders all season, with Judge, Domínguez, Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham each starting at least 80 games in the outfield.
Judge has not played in the field since July 25, and upon returning from the injured list on Aug. 5, he has served exclusively as the Yankees’ designated hitter.
But the Yankees want to keep the red-hot Stanton, their primary DH, in the lineup, which is why the 35-year-old recently returned to right field for the first time since September 2023.
Wednesday marked the fourth time in five games that Stanton got the start in right. The rookie Domínguez, 22, was the odd man out in the Yankees’ outfield each time.
“I think he’s had a really solid year and continued to develop,” Boone said of Domínguez.
“He’s gonna be an important part of this moving forward. You never know, day-to-day right now when we’re in the stretch drive here, how it will unfold, but this is all hands on deck.”
Domínguez, a touted prospect whose out-of-this-world skillset earned him the nickname “The Martian, began Wednesday with a .253 average, nine home runs and a .718 OPS.
But Grisham and Bellinger are superior defensive players, and both entered Wednesday with 21 home runs and an OPS over .800.
The switch-hitting Domínguez is a better hitter from the left side (.778 OPS) than the right (.560), but Wednesday’s game was the third in a row that Domínguez sat against a right-handed pitcher.
Twins ace Joe Ryan (11-5, 2.79 ERA) was Minnesota’s starter.
Bellinger and Grisham both bat left-handed, and while Stanton bats right-handed, he entered Wednesday with a .986 OPS and 11 home runs against righty pitchers.
Regardless of the matchup, Stanton has been the Yankees’ best batter in July, with a .414 average, four homers and an 1.362 OPS in 29 at-bats to begin play Wednesday. He went 4-for-5 with a homer in Tuesday night’s 9-1 win against the Twins.
“I’m kind of going day-to-day right now and hearing how Giancarlo’s responding, and same with Belli and Grish,” Boone said. “I haven’t had that conversation [about playing time with Domínguez] because I don’t necessarily have it planned out a couple of days in advance.”
Judge, meanwhile, continues to work toward returning to the outfield. On Tuesday, Judge said he was “feeling good” and “progressing” under the plan of the trainers.
“He’s expected to throw again today,” Boone added Wednesday. “[We’ll] continue to stretch him out. I think he’s been up to 120 feet or so. At some point, we want to get him probably throwing to bases and stuff. It seems to be going well, but no timeline as far as a target date.”
ALL IS WELLS
Wednesday did, however, mark a return to the starting lineup for Austin Wells.
The 26-year-old catcher sat out of three of the previous four games, including the last two, as Ben Rice receives more time behind the plate.
Wells entered Wednesday with a .208 average and a .267 on-base percentage this season. He was just 3-for-20 (.150) in July.
SURGING STANTON
With nearly every homer these days, Stanton ties or passes another big-name slugger on the all-time home run list.
Tuesday’s blast was the 441st home run of Stanton’s career, moving him past Jason Giambi for 44th in MLB history. He entered Wednesday one home run behind Dave Kingman.
Stanton has also passed Cal Ripken Jr., Andruw Jones, Juan Gonzalez, Carlos Beltran, Andre Dawson and Paul Konerko this year. Now in his 16th MLB season, Stanton is MLB’s active home run leader.
“I’ve just tried to remind him a couple of days, like, ‘Oh, here comes Kingman. You got Jason.’ … They’re all big now,” Boone said. “I enjoy it. I find it pretty cool, and I think in his own way, he enjoys it a little bit, too.”
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