BRADENTON, Fla. — Jasson Domínguez got his first two at-bats of the spring against a left-hander Monday.
And while the outfielder still has more work to do from the right side to become a more viable switch-hitter, getting the reps against lefties is the most important thing for Domínguez at this point on the calendar.
“I think it’s mostly an experience-level thing where, a young man that’s missed a fair amount of time in his development coming up through the system, the biggest thing that suffers from that is the right side because you don’t face a lot of lefties,” manager Aaron Boone said before a 6-2 win over the Pirates at LECOM Park. “So I’m hoping it is something that continues to improve over time as he gets more opportunities. But it can be challenging, too.”
Domínguez struck out in both at-bats against lefties — the first against tough reliever Gregory Soto — after roping an RBI double against a righty earlier in the game.
Though the right side is Domínguez’s natural side, he struggled there last season, batting .204 with a .569 OPS in 104 plate appearances compared to .274 with a .768 OPS in 325 plate appearances from the left side.
Beyond being blocked in the outfield if everyone stays healthy, it doesn’t help Domínguez’s case to make the roster that the Yankees are already lefty-heavy in their lineup and could use a right-handed-hitting backup outfielder.
Boone will try to match Domínguez up against lefties when possible this spring, though that is easier said than done.
In the spring, teams do not always set their pitching plans until the night before a game, whereas Boone tries to make his lineups a few days in advance as he builds players’ workloads up.
Boone said he is still not sure when Oswaldo Cabrera might get into game action, but indicated that he’s been encouraged by how the utilityman has looked in recent days as he comes back from a broken ankle and ligament damage last May.
Cabrera also still needs to slide, Boone said, which is how he damaged his ankle in the first place.
“I’ve noticed with my eyes, I feel like he’s getting closer to that final level of burst and the things you need,” Boone said. “So he’s full-bore baseball activities. I’ll just wait for the trainers to say when we want to start getting him in games.”
J.C. Escarra is expected to make his spring debut Tuesday against the Blue Jays after being delayed slightly as the Yankees made sure the catcher was fully in the clear from tweaking his knee in the Dominican Winter League.
“We’ve just been making sure he can get all his positions perfectly,” Boone said. “But he’s been good for a few weeks now.”
Ryan Yarbrough made his spring debut against the Pirates, tossing two innings on 44 pitches while giving up one run and striking out four.
“Everything was good,” Yarbrough said. “Cutters felt really good. Just trying to make sure to get those pitches in. Maybe execute a little better, but overall, everything was really good with how everything was moving and just build off of it.”
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