Where will Yankees' Jasson Dominguez land when rehab assignment ends?

MINNEAPOLIS – Jasson Dominguez is officially on the clock.

Where the centerfield prospect goes when that clock – a maximum of 20 days for rehabbing position players (30 for pitchers) – expires is not yet clear.

But it is not a stretch to assume – and this overwhelmingly is the safe bet because of the current status of the Yankees’ big-league roster, coupled with Dominguez essentially needing a full spring training – that destination is all but certain to be Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The clock began Tuesday night for the 21-year-old when he started at DH for the Class-A Tampa Tarpons.

Dominguez, in one of those coincidences that seem to happen so often in this sport, singled in his first at-bat against Bradenton righthander Domingo German, the former Yankee signed to a minor league deal by the Pirates organization toward the end of spring training.

The switch-hitting Dominguez, recovering from Tommy John surgery for the UCL tear he suffered last September, finished 1-for-3 with a strikeout and a walk (he also flied to right).

“It's nice to be back on the field and do what I love. It feels good,” Dominguez said afterward, according to the Associated Press. “Everything going as planned. I feel good. I was seeing the ball very well.”

One talent evaluator in Tampa said Dominguez “didn’t look like a guy playing his first game … showed the promise of all his tools. Was impressed with his speed and slide advancing second to third on a flyout.”

According to Aaron Boone, the Yankees plan to have Dominguez DH the first two weeks of his rehab assignment, which would leave him roughly a week of playing the field before the 20 days are up. And it’s for that reason, as well as the fact position players typically need a month of spring training to feel ready (spring training last six weeks so starting pitchers can get stretched out), logic would dictate Dominguez will continue that process in Triple-A.

Boone has a palpable reaction to hypothetical questions – he, like most coaches and managers, doesn’t like them – so he hasn’t been interested in speculating what the organization will do with Dominguez once he’s done with minor league games.

That decision ultimately won’t be Boone’s anyway but, regardless, his hesitancy in speculating is prudent.

So much, good and bad, can happen in any three-week stretch in a Major League Baseball season, a truism that doesn’t lend itself to looking too far down the road.

“That’s at least a month away,” Boone said of Dominguez before Wednesday night’s game against the Twins. “He’s in the first days of spring training games and for the first couple weeks he’s going to be DH’ing. So let’s just get out of his way right now and get him right and get him playing and get him the regular reps and then we’ll see where we are.”

Additionally, there’s no need for Dominguez to be rushed.

Because the reality of the Yankees' 26-man roster, barring injuries, is there simply isn’t a spot for Dominguez that makes sense.

The starting outfield – Alex Verdugo, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto – obviously isn’t going anywhere (those thinking that Verdugo, already entrenched as a positive clubhouse presence and a player both Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo behind the scenes had been pushing the club to acquire, is somehow vulnerable are guilty of misguided thinking, at best).

“He’s playing the best leftfield for us since Gardy (Brett Gardner) was in his prime,” one organizational insider said of Verdugo, whose lefty bat has also benefited the lineup.

Trent Grisham, though struggling in his part-time role that so far hasn’t resulted in much on-field action, is still a plus centerfielder. And, like Verdugo, Grisham is well-liked in the clubhouse, though for different reasons (Grisham, even with the minimal playing time he’s had, has earned behind-the-scenes respect for his preparation and overall professionalism).

“Hopefully in 10 days, two weeks from now, when we’re now getting him (Dominguez) into the outfield and starting to really build him up, and then if we have a decision to make at some point, we’ll obviously make that,” Boone said. “But still, that’s a long ways off.”

Kahnle close

Righty reliever Tommy Kahnle, who started the season on the IL with right shoulder inflammation, struck out the side Tuesday night in a rehab game with Double-A Somerset, his third rehab game overall (the first two were with Class-A Tampa). Boone said Kahnle would pitch Thursday and Sunday with Somerset and it’s possible he’s activated early next week during the Mariners’ series.