Aaron Boone hold players accountable challenge. Level: Impossible.

Aaron Boone, New York Yankees / Jim McIsaac/GettyImages

The New York Yankees are going to coast into the playoffs on the combined star power of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. New York has now lost three straight series, though, and there are plenty of reasons to proceed with skepticism .

As always, a large volume of the complaints about this Yankees team involve Aaron Boone, who can’t seem to pull the right strings from the dugout. Boone has a notoriously bombastic personality, quick to call out the umpire when he feels wronged. It’s therefore a bit surprising that Boone can’t seem to muster the same caustic attitude toward his players. Sometimes a manager just needs to shut off the water on a struggling player — to speak the truth plainly to the media and make adjustments based on logic, not feelings.

Such managerial tact does not appear to be in Boone’s wheelhouse. When faced with a historically bad stretch of blown saves from Clay Holmes, Boone essentially said the Yanks’ ninth-inning bullpen duties would be handled by committee. He even said Holmes might remain part of their closing plans, despite a clear inability to finish games at the moment.

Now, we have another instance of Boone coddling a weak point in his lineup. Alex Verdugo, in the midst of a disappointing age-28 season, was seen jogging out a groundball out in Wednesday’s loss to the Texas Rangers.

Boone was asked about it postgame. He claimed Verdugo was hurt, an assessment that Verdugo contradicted in his own postgame comments.

Let’s be charitable and say that Boone is covering for Verdugo, who is not going to admit that he’s operating at less than 100 percent. It’s often a matter of pride for players to fight through ailments, so maybe Verdugo really is hurt. It’s believable enough. And sure, okay, if he’s fighting through bumps and bruises, a slow jog on an obvious groundout is easier to forgive.

What makes less sense, though, is why Verdugo is in the lineup to begin with.

Whether he’s hurt or not, Alex Verdugo should not be playing over Jasson Dominguez

The Yankees left their No. 1 overall prospect, Jasson Dominguez, with Triple-A Scranton after a one-game MLB cameo in last month’s Little League Classic. There was a real push within the fandom for New York to call up the talented outfield slugger on a permanent basis, but the Yankees opted for a pinch-runner instead when rosters expanded on Sept. 1. Why? Because New York doesn’t want to put Dominguez in the MLB until he can play everyday.

“He will remain in the conversation moving forward,” Boone told reporters. “When he comes up here, we’re going to want to play him every day, so he’ll continue to remain in the conversation.”

What is preventing Dominguez from full-time reps? Alex Verdugo. The Yankees unwavering commitment to the 28-year-old, in the final year of his contract, has obscured Dominguez’s path to ABs at the next level.

In fact, MLB insider Jon Heyman detailed that while there were some vocal supporters of calling up Dominguez, they were blocked by Boone and general manager Brian Cashman, both of whom continued to push their support of Verdugo continuing to start.

“The decision to keep the uber-talented Dominguez at Triple-A beyond the Sept. 1 roster expansion date confounds many (including some Yankees people). And for most, word that it was made because GM Brian Cashman and Boone continue to have faith in Verdugo doesn’t make it very much better,” writes Heyman.

“Boone mentioned a pre-September “conversation” among Yankees higher-ups about whether to promote Dominguez, and insiders say it was a very spirited dialogue, with multiple executives strongly arguing for promotion, obviously unsuccessfully.”

Verdugo has done very little to earn this faith in 2024, batting .235 with a .652 OPS through 510 ABs. Dominguez has been one of the most dominant hitters at the Triple-A level, with highlights circulating Yankees Twitter almost daily at this point.

There is very little baseball evidence to support Verdugo as the “better” option than Dominguez. It’s hard to know for certain how the 21-year-old would fare at the next level — Dominguez went 0-for-4 in his season debut against Detroit — but it’s not like the Yankees are missing much without Verdugo in the lineup. There is considerable upside tied to Dominguez’s physical tools and talent. If he bombs, the Yankees can circle back to Verdugo after some time off. Perhaps then he will have fresher legs and a more productive disposition at the plate.

Whether Verdugo is actually hurt, or Boone is just spinning a yarn, it’s becoming harder to justify his sustained usage when a highly productive, upside-laden option is waiting in the wings. Dominguez is still on the Yankees’ 40-man roster, so New York can call him up ahead of the playoffs. It’s probably time for Brian Cashman to get on the phone.