Jasson Domínguez's defense was a significant concern during spring training, prompting the Yankees to explore late-game defensive replacements. Although he improved through the season, initial struggles led to comparisons with Alex Verdugo's offensive shortcomings. Defensive analysis is complicated by limited early-season metrics but provides an opportunity for detailed tape review. Statcast tracked Domínguez's involvement in 36 defensive plays, revealing inconsistencies but also potential for improvement. The lack of data during this phase allows for a close examination of player performance and maneuverability in the field as the regular season progresses.
Defense is a tricky subject to analyze objectively, as it notoriously requires large data sets to make any definitive conclusions. With barely two weeks' worth of games behind us, the metrics change daily.
Heading into last night's game, Statcast labelled Domínguez as the primary defender in left field for 36 plays. Of these, 13 were plays in which the left fielder had little to no effect.
While, as spring training went on, Domínguez's defense became less and less a topic of conversation - partially a result of improvement, partially because the rash of injuries to the starting rotation took center stage.
That said, the very paucity of data that makes statistical analysis impossible at this juncture also means that the early season is the perfect time to analyze the tape.
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