Yankees: Brian Cashman discusses Luis Severino, Jasson Dominguez, and other topics

New York Yankees, Brian Cashman

New York Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman talked to reporters over Zoom on Friday, and covered lots of topics, most notably Luis Severino’s recovery and an update on top outfield prospect Jasson Dominguez.

Regarding Severino, the Yankees’ boss said that he is still going through his rehab from last spring’s Tommy John surgery. He declined to say exactly when he will return to mound work, but he did say that the team expects him to do it “shortly.”

“I don’t want to give the wrong information, [but] it’s going really well,” Cashman said on Severino’s progression. “. … He’s due to get on the mound again shortly. … but I don’t have the exact bullpen date.”

About Dominguez, who is by most outlets the Yankees’ top prospects, Cashman said that he is honing his skills while he waits for a minor league season to take place, like every other prospect.

“He’s like everybody else in the minor league population waiting for a minor league/spring training report time and then seeing where it takes him,” Cashman said. “He’s now one of many that will be competing for a spot on a roster, and what roster that turns out to be remains to be seen. But all those evaluations will take place when we have a collection of all the talent, including himself.

“We need to get his career going just like a number of the other prospects that we have.”

The Yankees’ GM also talked about Gleyber Torres

Cashman recently said that Yankees’ shortstop Gleyber Torres had reported to last year summer camp out of shape. However, that is not the case this time around.

“He’s in good shape,” Cashman said. “I believe everyone’s reported in top shape and ready to get after it, so that’s a really encouraging circumstance — that’s the way you want it out of the starting gate. It sounds like everybody here for 2021 spring training showed up ready to go.”

Torres just homered in Friday’s spring training game and looks poised for a huge bounceback season.

Yankees News: Jasson Dominguez cracks another impressive list

New York Yankees, Jasson Dominguez

They call him “The Martian,” despite not having played a professional game yet. New York Yankees star prospect Jasson Dominguez is one of the most exciting young players since names like Bo Jackson crossed your screen. Just recently, Dominguez was reaching an exit velocity of 108 mph, and just to remind you, he is only 17 years old.

Baseball America has him at number 33 in their top 100 prospect list, and yet again, he hasn’t played a professional game. The slugger contains all five tools, hitting, hitting for power, running, fielding, and throwing. His catapulting up the prospect list has been extremely exciting, especially since the Yankees signed him to a large international contract, which will keep him in their farm system for quite some time.

Dominguez has cracked another list, though, and this time it was curated by the MLB.

MLB.com ranked Yankees’ star Jasson Dominguez as the 8th best outfield prospect heading into the 2021 season.

Signed for $5.1 million out of the Dominican Republic in July 2019, Dominguez is the most hyped and tooled-up international prospect in recent years. He has the potential for well above-average tools across the board and possesses the advanced instincts and skills to make the most of them.

For all the hyperbole surrounding Dominguez — and, yes, we’ll mention yet again that he has been compared to outstanding baseball athletes such as Bo Jackson, Mickey Mantle, and Mike Trout — the fact remains that he has yet to play a pro game.

The expectation is that Dominguez will reach the MLB stage in the next few years, but until then, the Yankees will roll with a squad consisting of Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, Clint Frazier, Giancarlo Stanton, and potential a free agent signing.
There is still hope that general manager Brian Cashman will bring back Brett Gardner on a one-year deal, but unless he’s willing to take a significant price cut, it is possible they move on from the veteran left fielder.