Yankees' Opening Day roster will include Randal Grichuk but not Jasson Dominguez
New York Yankees' Randal Grichuk in a spring training game on March 11, 2026. Credit: AP/Chris O'Meara
TAMPA, Fla. — Jasson Dominguez went 2-for-3 on Saturday in the Yankees’ 3-1 loss to the Tigers in Lakeland and is batting .349 with a 1.047 OPS in spring training.
Randal Grichuk went 0-for-3 with a walk and is batting .105 with a .308 OPS.
Guess which one made the Yankees’ 26-man Opening Day roster?
It’s Grichuk, who will be on the team that will open the season on Wednesday in San Francisco.
Dominguez was informed on Friday night that he will begin the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. That the 23-year-old switch hitter — who spent the entire 2025 season on the major-league roster — got two hits the next day, including a triple, while batting righthanded speaks well as to where his head is after the demotion.
“You want him playing regularly,” manager Aaron Boone said. “That’s ultimately what it comes down to.”
With a starting outfield of Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Aaron Judge, the Yankees need a righthanded-hitting backup. Dominguez’s right side is his weaker one, by far, so that and improving defensively is what he will work on in Triple-A.
“As talented a player as he is right now, there’s still so much more for him to get to,” Boone said. “It’s a crazy game. He could be back before you know it.”
Grichuk, 34, signed with the Yankees on Feb. 26. Saturday's game was only his seventh of spring training. Against lefties, he has a .268/.318/.500 career slash line, an .819 OPS. Dominguez has a career slash line against lefties of .186/.276/.254, a .530 OPS. He had a .569 OPS against them in 2025.
The Yankees sent Oswaldo Cabrera to Triple-A so he can continue to build up after suffering a serious ankle injury last season. They also sent down veterans Paul DeJong, Seth Brown and Max Schuemann.
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
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