New York Yankees Call Up Jasson Domínguez Ahead of Series Opener Against Kansas City Royals

Jasson Domínguez has received his call up…

The New York Yankees called up the 21-year-old Dominican professional baseball outfielder, nicknamed El Marciano, ahead of Monday’s series opener against the Kansas City Royals, abruptly answering the question hovering over the club since rosters were expanded at the beginning of the month.

Jasson Domínguez,,Domínguez was in the Yankees’ starting lineup Monday, playing center field and batting sixth. Manager Aaron Boone said he’ll play “a lot” as the Yankees continue battling the Baltimore Orioles for the AL East title.

“This is a dream,” Domínguez said. “Since I started playing, I wanted to play in the big leagues and now I’m here again and it’s exciting and I’m happy [about] it.”

The Yankees’ decision to not promote the switch-hitter on September 1, when teams were first allowed to field 28-man rosters, was surprising to outsiders.

A significant swath of the fan base reacted with furor.

Domínguez was producing at the Triple-A level while Alex Verdugo, the Yankees’ everyday left fielder, was one of the worst everyday players in the majors since June. Why wait?

Boone gave two primary reasons: First, injuries — a late start to the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last September and an oblique strain in June — disjointed Domínguez’s season and limited his game action.

Secondly, Domínguez would only get called up to play every day, and Yankees decision-makers decided they wanted to give Verdugo, a 28-year-old veteran with postseason experience, more time to rebound.

On Friday, general manager Brian Cashman told reporters in Chicago that Verdugo gave the team “the best chance to win.”

Three days later, after taking two of three games from the Cubs but scoring just six runs, the Yankees were back home, Domínguez had a locker in their clubhouse and Verdugo, an impending free agent, was effectively demoted to the bench. What changed?

“I don’t know about change other than, look, the roster is a living, breathing organism every day that’s always kind of evolving and you’re always paying attention,” Boone said. “And like I said on Sept. 1, when we didn’t initially recall Jasson, he’s in the conversation every single day. I think as much as anything, it’s just continuing to build the momentum he’s built here over the last few weeks.”

Domínguez’s return to the Bronx comes a year after he provided a dose of electricity as a September call-up for a club en route to a disappointing 82-win season without a playoff appearance. Domínguez homered in his debut and hit three more home runs over the next seven games. But his season was cut short after he was diagnosed with a torn UCL in his right elbow. He underwent Tommy John surgery soon thereafter, which pushed his 2024 debut back to mid-May.

Domínguez reached Triple-A Wilkes/Barre in June, appearing in nine games before suffering an oblique strain that sidelined him for over a month. His only major league action this season before Monday was as the Yankees’ 27th man in the Little League Classic against the Detroit Tigers last month. He batted fifth and played left field, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts before he was sent back to the minors, where he pummeled pitching.

Domínguez batted .347 with four home runs and a .958 OPS in 18 games after the cameo. Overall, he slashed .314./376/.504 with 11 home runs in 58 games across three minor league levels this season, solidifying his place as a consensus top-10 prospect in baseball and a key part of the Yankees’ future. That future started Monday.

“I’ve been a huge fan ever since I met him,” Boone said. “Just love his makeup, his talent. And he’s earned this opportunity.”

The Yankees also activated infielder Jon Berti from the injured list, placed infielder DJ LeMahieu on the injured list with a right hip impingement, and designated left-handed reliever Anthony Misiewicz for assignment.

Berti, a 34-year-old speedster acquired the day before Opening Day, had been out since May with a left calf strain he reaggravated in July. Boone said LeMahieu has been dealing with hip discomfort for “a few weeks.” He added he isn’t sure if LeMahieu, a two-time batting champion having the worst season of his career, will play again in 2024.

Kid Cudi to Co-Headline This Year’s Governors Ball at New York’s Citi Field

Kid Cudi is the beau of the Ball

The 37-year-old half-Mexican American singer/rapper is set to co-headline the 2022 Governors Ball festival at Citi Field in Queens, New York.

Kid CudiKid Cudi will co-headline alongside J.Cole and Halsey at the festival, which will take place on June 10-12.

The event will also feature sets from Migos, Jack Harlow, Louis the Child, Black Pumas, Skepta, Beabadoobee, Flume, Roddy Ricch, YG, Tove Lo, Denzel Curry, Playboi Carti, Glass Animals, Kaytranada, Clairo, Becky G, Jazmine Sullivan, Japanese Breakfast, 100 Gecs and many more.

Tickets for the event go on sale on Thursday, January 27 at noon ET on the event’s website; a special presale for three-day and one-day passes and VIP tickets will open exclusively for Citi cardmembers from 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday (Jan. 25) through 11:59 a.m. ET on Thursday (Jan. 27).

In a release announcing this year’s event, promoters Founders Entertainment also said that they’ll be donating $25,000 to the New York City Mayor’s Fund for the victims of January’s devastating Bronx apartment building fire that killed 17 and injured dozens of others; attendees can also support the victims of the blaze by donation to the relief effort via The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.

Other artists slated to perform at this year’s Governors Ball include JPEGMAFIA, Coi Leray, Channel Tres, Joji, Still Woozy, ASHNIKKO, Chelsea Cutler, Diesel (Shaquille O’Neal), Gus Dapperton, J.I.D, COIN, Soccer Mommy, Surf Curse, DUCKWRTH, Del Water Gap and more.

The festival celebrated its 10th anniversary in the fall with a show that featured headliners Post Malone, Billie Eilish and A$AP Rocky. As usual, the 2022 festival will feature a rich array of craft cocktails, beers, food, surprise pop-up performances and art installations.

The Kid Mero to Promote New Book “God-Level Knowledge Darts: Life Lessons from the Bronx” with Virtual Book Tour

The Kid Mero is ready to share some life lessons virtually…

The 27-year-old Dominican American television personality, writer and comedian, whose real name is Joel Martinez, and Desus Nice will be heading out on a book tour.

The Kid Mero

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic,Desus & Mero, as they’re known on their Showtime late-night talk show of the same name, set up the virtual tour to promote God-Level Knowledge Darts: Life Lessons from the Bronx.

The book, published by Penguin Random House, will be released on September 22.

Tickets to the experience will include the virtual live show and a pre-order copy of the life advice book. Some tickets will be available for a virtual meet-and-greet.

The ‘tour’ kicks off on August 14 in the mid-Atlantic, before wrapping up in the south on September 20.

“We want to share all we’ve learned, after years in the Bronx streets, with you: the people. So with a lifetime spent building up a plethora of information from trials and tribulations and a handful of misdemeanors, we decided to write this book—a sequel to the Bible, or maybe to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, depending on how big a nerd you are. Let this book be your North Star,” the pair said.

This comes as Showtime moved their show from its previous Monday night slot to Sunday evenings. It also airs on Thursday nights.

“The network believes in us, and Sunday night, you know, that’s the night for the big shows,” Desus, otherwise known as Daniel Baker, told Deadline. “Imagine it like a baseball lineup. You just want to have your best hitters right after each other, boom, boom, boom. You’ve got all the crème de la crème shows in one package on Sunday night, and it gives our show a chance to be in front of more eyes so more people could see it.”

Mero added, “The lead-in to your show is super important. If you have American Ninja Part 3 playing before your show, you’re not going to get a lot of [viewers]. But if you have The Chi or Billions, you get more eyeballs.”