'Martian' hurt on swing, goes on Minors IL

BOSTON -- Yankees top prospect Jasson Domínguez is back on the injured list, having felt a tweak near his left oblique on a checked swing while playing for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday.

Nicknamed “The Martian,” Domínguez was placed on the 7-day Minor League injured list on Sunday. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Domínguez was scheduled to undergo testing that would determine the severity of the injury.

“He felt it in the side on the checked swing, so he’s getting testing today,” Boone said at Fenway Park on Sunday. “It was enough to put him on the IL right away at least. We’ll hopefully have an idea of exactly what we’ve got by tonight or tomorrow.”

Rated as baseball’s No. 30 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline, the 21-year-old Domínguez recently returned from rehab following surgery on his right ulnar collateral ligament performed last September.

Domínguez completed a Minor League rehab assignment and was optioned to Triple-A on June 12, where he was expected to continue playing while awaiting an opportunity at the big league level.

In 23 Minor League games this season for Single-A Tampa, Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Domínguez has tallied 31 hits in 87 at-bats (.356), with four doubles, six homers and 13 RBIs.

Domínguez was batting .389/.405/.639 in nine games at Triple-A, where he exited Saturday’s game for a defensive replacement in the seventh inning.

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“He kind of took an awkward checked swing, then continued on in the at-bat,” Boone said. “That was his last at-bat.”

The Yankees did not see an avenue to promote Domínguez to the Majors, with Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo all starting regularly in the outfield, and Giancarlo Stanton entrenched as the designated hitter. The organization also had no appetite to have Domínguez on the bench as a reserve, a role currently filled by Trent Grisham.