Not that long ago, Spencer Jones and Jasson Dominguez were the two names New York Yankees fans wouldn’t even let you whisper in trade proposals. They were the future, the next wave, the reason you checked Somerset and Scranton box scores like stock tickers. But baseball moves fast, and nothing moves faster than a team desperate for pitching. Now both players — once labeled untouchable — are surfacing in trade chatter exactly when the Yankees need to decide who they truly believe in.
On MLB Network Radio’s Power Alley, former GM Jim Duquette gave the conversation some heat when he compared Jones to Joey Gallo — a sentence guaranteed to trigger PTSD for anyone in the Bronx. Jones’ strikeout rate in the upper minors is a real risk factor, and teams know it. That doesn’t erase the 6-foot-6 frame, the speed, the athleticism, or the left-handed power, but it does chip away at the idea that he’s a guaranteed middle-of-the-order anchor.
Dominguez’s situation is more complicated.
His rise stalled not because of talent, but because his timeline got derailed. A torn UCL in 2023 and soft-tissue setbacks in 2024 slowed everything down. He finally looked ready to reclaim momentum in 2025… only to find himself squeezed out by resurgent seasons from Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham. He wasn’t demoted because he was bad; he was sidelined because the veterans in front of him actually produced. That’s how you go from Rookie-of-the-Year hype to falling off MLB.com’s top-10 rookie list, as Jim Callis noted.
And that brings the Yankees to the uncomfortable part: which player should they “sell high” on — and which one would they regret moving?
If New York still believes Jones can trim the strikeouts and unlock the Judge-like upside scouts once projected, he’s the bigger trade gamble. Teams dream on tools like his, and that dream still trades well. But if the swing-and-miss never comes down, the window to move him as a true headliner shrinks fast.
Dominguez is the opposite. The hit tool is cleaner, the floor is more stable, and the age works in his favor. But moving him now — right before he potentially breaks out with full health and a real lane to playing time — is the kind of thing the Yankees have regretted before.
They can’t dodge this call forever. The bullpen needs help, the rotation could need help and they might need another infielder with Anthony Volpe scheduled to begin the season on the injured list. That costs prospects. The only question is which version of these two players rival teams believe — and which version the Yankees are actually willing to bet their future on
