6 Yankees to watch during spring training
Yankees captain Aaron Judge during batting practice at spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
TAMPA, Fla. – After nearly two weeks of workouts for the Yankees – pitchers and catchers reported on Feb. 11 followed by position players last Sunday – Grapefruit League games officially begin on Friday in Sarasota against the Orioles, with the Tigers coming to Steinbrenner Field on Saturday. The wins and losses, regardless of how much attention they may get, could not be less relevant. But that doesn’t mean the games themselves lack relevance. Here are six Yankees to watch as the exhibition season starts:
Aaron Judge, OF
This will be a spring unlike any other for Judge. The three-time AL MVP in his career has been, to use a phrase of manager Aaron Boone’s, typically “slow-played” in the spring, meaning he is built up gradually and does not see game action until the second week as a way of preservation for the long season. Because Judge is playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, Boone said the plan is to have him play in four or five of the Yankees’ first nine games before his March 1 departure. Expect the early spring game workload to also be heavier for the other Yankees participating in the WBC – David Bednar (USA), Paul Goldschmidt (USA), Fernando Cruz (Puerto Rico), Elmer Rodriguez (Puerto Rico), Camilo Doval (Dominican Republic), Amed Rosario (Dominican Republic), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (Great Britain), Brendan Beck (Great Britain), Jose Caballero (Panama) and Harrison Cohen, a Syosset native who will pitch for Team Israel.
Jasson Dominguez, OF
After arriving in spring training a year ago with the starting job in left all but his to lose, Dominguez, one of the top prospects in the game during his meteoric climb through the Yankees minor league system, is competing this spring for a reserve outfield spot. But, regardless of how the 23-year-old plays this spring, he is likely to start the season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. As GM Brian Cashman said recently, “I would concede it’s in his best interest to be getting everyday reps.” And that won’t be the case in the big leagues as a reserve. An injury to a member of the starting outfield – Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Judge – could, naturally, change that equation. Still, it is worth watching how Dominguez, who struggled all of last season in adjusting to left, handles a spring that couldn’t be much different than last.
Spencer Jones, OF
Two players were most affected by Bellinger re-upping with the Yankees. The first was Dominguez, Jones the second. Jones, the club’s first-round pick (25th overall) out of Vanderbilt in 2022, has even less chance to make the team out of spring training than Dominguez. The Yankees remain high on the 6-7, 240-pound Jones but there is plenty of internal debate regarding just how productive he can be once he gets his shot in the majors. The power tantalizes – Jones hit a combined .274 with 35 homers and a .932 OPS between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton last season – but plate discipline is still an issue. Jones, who turns 25 on May 14, struck out 70 times in 208 plate appearances with Somerset before fanning 109 times in 298 plate appearances with Scranton (he struck out 200 times in 544 plate appearances in 124 games with Somerset in 2024). He’ll get plenty of time this spring and the organization would love to see some development in that area.
George Lombard Jr., SS
Generally considered the organization’s top prospect, Lombard, a shortstop whom multiple rival scouts have compared to “a young Carlos Correa,” had an electric three weeks last spring training before being re-assigned to minor league camp. In his first big-league camp, the then-19-year-old Lombard impressed just about everyone in a Yankees uniform with his overall skill set and his ability to navigate a major-league clubhouse, not a surprise in that he grew up around one with his father, former big-leaguer George Lombard. The younger Lombard is a near lock to start the season in Double-A, where he struggled at the plate after being promoted early in 2025. He’ll again be re-assigned to minor league camp this spring but will be worth watching until then.
Elmer Rodriguez/Carlos Lagrange, RHPs
Fans will get a look at two of the club’s top pitching prospects right out of the gate as Rodriguez will start Friday’s spring opener and Lagrange will get the nod Saturday. The 6-7, 240-pound Lagrange gets more attention – mostly because of a fastball that hit 103 mph last year in the minors – but rival scouts, and more than a few with the Yankees, see the 6-3, 160-pound Rodriguez as more polished and a bit closer to the big leagues.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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