00:00Before the Yankees wrapped up a strong road trip through Boston and two series in the state of Texas,
00:05they made some more news here Wednesday morning by designating Randall Grudrick for assignment.
00:09It really means that Jason Dominguez is going to have a longer stay in the big leagues.
00:13When the Yankees called up Dominguez earlier this week, it seemed like it might be a short stay,
00:18just knowing that Anthony Volpe was potentially returning from the I.L. as soon as this weekend.
00:24And although Dominguez was essentially replacing Giancarlo Stanton,
00:28the Yankees were going to have to open up a roster spot by this weekend.
00:31And it seemed like he might go right back to AAA.
00:33But now with Grudrick gone, that should open the door for Dominguez to essentially, you know,
00:38take care of DH duties, at least against right-handed pitchers for however long Stanton is out,
00:45which remains to be seen.
00:46They're hopeful it may just be on the short term,
00:49but he's not expected to start moving around at least until they get home this weekend.
00:53So for now, Dominguez has a clearer shot to sticking up here
00:57and getting every day at-bats as a DH.
01:00And, you know, Grudrick had a slow start.
01:03I think he started 0 for 15.
01:05Had been hitting better of late, but it always seemed like he was, you know,
01:10kind of on the clock there.
01:11He was probably going to be the move for Volpe if Stanton stayed healthy.
01:15But instead, the Yankees just decided to do this move now.
01:19They needed to open a roster spot for Elner Rodriguez to make his debut today.
01:22So they sent Grudrick packing and they're kind of, you know, giving Dominguez a shot here to prove that he
01:30belongs to stick around.
01:31As for Rodriguez, the Yankees called him up.
01:34He's going to get a shot to basically fill in the fifth starter role until Carlos Jordan returns from the
01:39IL in a few weeks.
01:41This is the rotation spot that had been Luis Heels, but they optioned him to AAA after a rough one
01:47on Saturday, or on Sunday, I should say.
01:49They're trying to send him back to AAA to work on some things, to try to rediscover the form.
01:54But in the meantime, they're kind of going with the hot hand.
01:57Elmer Rodriguez has been one of the best pitchers in the minor leagues since the Yankees acquired him from the
02:01Red Sox before 2025 for Carlos Narvaez.
02:05And now he's going to get a chance to show what he has in the big leagues.
02:10He's one of their top pitching prospects.
02:12I mean, Carlos Ogranje, both at AAA.
02:15You know, Rodriguez, you know, Scott's view of him as a sure thing as a starter in the long term.
02:20There's a lot of excitement about him.
02:21So he's going to get a chance to show what he has, at least for, it seems like two or
02:26three starts, maybe, until Rodon returns.
02:28So it's a good opportunity for him.
02:30The other news in the way of youth around the Yankees is that they, on Tuesday night, they promoted George
02:36Lombard Jr.
02:37from AA to AAA.
02:39Obviously, their top prospect, he's only 20 years old still, turns 21 in June.
02:43He had spent most of last year at AA, went through some growing pains.
02:47But the first month of the season there this year was crushing it offensively.
02:52The Yankees, you know, they think that Lombard is pretty much ready defensively to play in the big leagues right
02:56now.
02:56It was always about his back catching up to his glove, which he showed over the first month of the
03:00season at AA that that was happening.
03:03So now he's going to get another big test, going to AAA, which obviously brings him, you know, within one
03:08step of the big leagues.
03:09So we'll see if he, you know, if and when he gets to the Bronx this season.
03:13But, you know, he's certainly knocking on the door now.
03:15Yankees are really excited about him, not just the player and his potential, but they love the makeup.
03:20So it's a guy that could be, you know, that's shown to be a fast riser.
03:24Again, he doesn't turn 21 until June, but he's a guy that, you know, if he plays well at AAA
03:30and shows that the bat improvements that he's made are real,
03:34he's a guy that could be pushing for playing time out here as well.
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