MIAMI — It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but both Jasson Domínguez and Ben Rice will be on the Yankees‘ Opening Day roster on Thursday.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone made it official with an announcement on Tuesday after a 4-2 loss to the Marlins at loanDepot park in the last exhibition game of the spring.
Rice has seemed like a lock to make the club for much of this spring. He put on a noticeable amount of muscle mass this past offseason, a change that showed up in his exit velocity numbers. With Giancarlo Stanton beginning the year on the injured list, with no return date in sight from his elbow injuries, Rice is in prime position to start at designated hitter early and often.
For a stretch earlier in camp, there were real concerns about Domínguez’s defense as the top prospect’s struggles in left field persisted. But he settled in nicely and while he didn’t explode offensively, there were plenty flashes of what makes him so special on that side of the ball.
Boone reiterated Tuesday morning that while he has a good idea of who will make the team’s 26-man roster, he doesn’t want to commit to anything too early when moves can still be made before Thursday’s opener.
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Case in point, the Yankees scooped up Ryan Yarbrough on Monday, immediately adding the left-hander to their big-league bullpen. Had they told everyone who they thought would be on the roster on Sunday, that would’ve made for an awkward conversation with somebody who was making plans to be in the Bronx.
With Domínguez and Rice officially on the roster, four spots are still technically up for grabs. The Yankees could roll with both Oswald Peraza and non-roster invitee Pablo Reyes on their bench, but they’ve been interested in adding a right-handed bat for a long time. Peraza has no minor-league options, so there’s a chance Tuesday was his last game in a Yankees uniform if an impact bat is acquired since Reyes outplayed the former top prospect all spring.
The other two bench spots will be fourth outfielder Trent Grisham and backup catcher J.C. Escarra, who will be in the big leagues for the first time. Between Rice, Escarra and starter Austin Wells, the Yankees will have three lefty-hitting catchers on their roster.
In the bullpen, the final two vacancies could go to Yoendrys Gómez and either Yerry De Los Santos or Brent Headrick, unless another arm is acquired before Opening Day. Like Peraza, Gómez doesn’t have options. He’s also been extremely effective in relief this spring, throwing 11 1/3 scoreless frames. De Los Santos and Headrick are on the 40-man roster and both can be optioned to Triple-A, which will make it easier for the Yankees when one of their injured relievers (like Ian Hamilton and Tyler Matzek) are ready to rejoin the big-league club in April.
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Max Goodman may be reached at [email protected].
