Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across Major League Baseball. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Yankees fans and fans across the country.
Although the New York Yankees had a somewhat-reserved Trade Deadline in only bringing aboard Luis García Jr. and Heliot Ramos, they did find another way to shake up the roster.
By adding Ramos, they had to demote an outfielder, and down went former top prospect Jasson Domínguez, whose underwhelming .650 OPS on the season was also accompanied by bad defense. They also made a change at the six, calling up acclaimed shortstop George Lombard Jr. and sending down the man who had previously been annointed the shortstop of the future, Anthony Volpe, who had just one homer in 194 trips to the plate and was tracking for his fourth consecutive season with an OPS in the mid-.600s.
So for this week’s Reacts survey, we were curious if Yankees fans had an inkling on which of the two fallen prospects would have more of an impact on next year’s team. Injuries are of course still unfortunately a possibility, so each player could still make their mark on 2026, but we’re considering the future. The Yankees might have decisions to make on these guys, who were already in trade rumors prior to their demotions.
Here are the results:
It wasn’t a decisive vote and Domínguez didn’t even garner the majority, but easily he led the 181 votes with 46 percent. Volpe was 14 percentage points behind, and 22 percent said that neither would be on the club in 2027. That is certainly a possibility, and I think 4:1 odds are fair of both departing during the offseason.
Offseason status is one of the reasons why I would lean toward Domínguez over Volpe in this exercise (if not only because they may need the outfield depth). The CBA negotiations between the league and the players’ union could affect the status quo, but as of now, Domínguez would only be entering his first year of arbitration in 2027, whereas Volpe would be in year two. The latter is making a little under $3.5 million this year, and arb salaries never go down, so the Yankees will have to decide if they want to pay him somewhere in the range of $4-5 million next year with no clear role. At minimum, he is a non-tender candidate.
There were only a handful of comments on this survey (we always love to hear from you, don’t be shy!), but I do want to shout out Jerry_Terry, who voted Volpe with a decent defense.
The Yankees are working to get Volpe more work at the keystone in the minors to increase his versatility, and it is true that they will need to figure out second base in 2027 with Jazz Chisholm Jr. likely out the door (unless he receives and accepts a qualifying offer). And though Volpe is a nontender candidate, the Yankees didn’t have a problem giving $5 million to Trent Grisham after 2024 in a similar nontender situation. I don’t expect Volpe to go off nearly to the same degree that Grisham did in 2025—I just don’t his bat is going to come around—but it speaks to the light value of depth. The Yankees still rave about Volpe’s work ethic, so while they’re less high on him than they used to be, it would indeed not be shocking to see him back in 2027.
What do you think?
These survey results are sponsored by FanDuel.