The New York Yankees have had a hole to fill in the outfield since Andrew Benintendi left the team in free agency before the 2023 season. Aaron Judge’s toe injury compounded this issue as he blew through the outfield wall in Dodgers Stadium and was left injured for much of the season.
They tried to plug the hole with stop-gap players Jake Bauers and Billy McKinney while also taking a shot on their young prospect Oswaldo Cabrera. There was even an experiment with Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who had recently lost his starting shortstop job to Anthony Volpe during spring training. Aaron Hicks was also released from the team on May 26th.
There were some successes but many failures, and their record shows that the team was struggling. Once the Yankees took a shot on their young prospects who had not started a game yet in the majors, one outfielder showed promise and provided a much-needed jolt of excitement to the roster.
In 8 games, Jasson Dominguez slashed .258/.303/.677 with eight home runs and sported an impressive .980 OPS. It’s not too shabby for your first stint in the majors. Tragedy struck when Dominguez complained of “discomfort” in his throwing arm.
The rising-star outfielder has been out since Sept. 9th after suffering a torn UCL in his right elbow. He is slated to miss the first few months of the season for the recovery process after undergoing Tommy John surgery. So now the leak in the ship appears to be a gaping hole, at least in the short term.
One veteran outfielder reportedly has an interest in joining the Yankees this offseason. That player is now four-time Gold Glove-winning outfielder Kevin Kiermaier, per Newsday’s Erik Boland.
“Centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier, who spent ten seasons with the Rays and one season with the Blue Jays, told people in Toronto toward season’s end that he would be interested in talking with the Yankees,” Boland said.
“I like the AL East. I’ve played in the division my entire career. I especially like here [Yankees Stadium] and Fenway… [I] feel like I’m always hitting homers here or playing well.” said Kiermaier. “Being on the turf my entire career, I enjoy being on the grass. My body feels so much better being on grass.”
Kiermaier has spent his entire career in the AL East so that he would feel right at home with the Yankees. Aside from being an outstanding defensive outfielder, he also had an offensively steady season in 2023, finishing with eight home runs, 36 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases with a .265/.322/.419 slash line.
Kiermaier underwent hip surgery in 2022, signed with the Blue Jays last offseason for one year and a $9 million contract, and is confident in his value heading into the 2023 offseason, per the New York Post.
“I feel like I’ve put myself in a good position [entering free agency], coming off hip surgery and being 33, but still feel like I’m holding my own out there in the center,” said Kiermaier. “It always comes down to hitting. I can run the bases and play great defense every year.”
There have been no reports that New York is actively courting Kiermaier, but it would be a surprise if his name doesn’t come up as free agency heats around the league.
