BRADENTON, Fla. – Jason Domínguez got his first two at-bats of the spring against the left-hander on Monday.
And while the outfielder still has a lot of work to do from the right side to become an effective switch hitter, getting reps against lefties is a priority for Domínguez at this point in the calendar.
“I think it’s a great thing there, a guy who missed enough time in his development by coming up with a plan, the biggest thing that suffers from that is the right side because you don’t look at many players that are left,” said manager Aaron Boone before the Pirates won 6-2 at LECOM Park. “So I hope it’s something that continues to get better over time as he gets more opportunities. But it can be a challenge as well.”
Domínguez hit both at-bats against lefties — the first against Gregory Soto — after notching an RBI double against the righty earlier in the game.
While the right side is Domínguez’s natural side, he struggled there last season, hitting .204 with a .569 OPS in 104 plate appearances compared to .274 with a .768 OPS in 325 plate appearances from the left side.
Without being blocked in the outfield if everyone else stays healthy, it doesn’t help Domínguez’s case to make a plan that the Yankees are already heavy in their lineup and could use a backup right fielder.
Boone will try to match Domínguez against the rest if possible this spring, though that’s easier said than done.
In the spring, teams don’t always set their rosters until the night before a game, while Boone tries to make his team a few days in advance as he builds up the workload for more players.
Boone said he still isn’t sure when Oswaldo Cabrera might be back in the game, but he said he’s been encouraged by how he’s looked these days as he comes back from ankle and hamstring injuries last May.
Cabrera also still needs to skate, Boone said, which is how he injured his ankle in the first place.
“I noticed with my own eyes, I feel like you’re getting closer to that final level of explosion and things you need,” Boone said. “So he’s busy with baseball. I’ll just wait for the coaches to say when we want to start seeing him in the games.”
JC Escarra is slated to make his spring debut Tuesday against the Blue Jays after a slight delay as the Yankees made sure the catcher was cleared to get his knee cleared in the Dominican Winter League.
“We’ve been making sure he can get all his positions right,” Boone said. “But he’s been fine for a few weeks now.”
Ryan Yarbrough made his spring debut against the Pirates, pitching two 44-pitch innings while giving up one run and striking out four.
“Everything was going well,” Yarbrough said. “The cutters felt very happy. Just trying to make sure to put those places in. Maybe I did better, but overall, everything was going well the way everything was going and just take it away from it.”
