The key to understanding the Yankees’ thinking in declining to promote Jasson Dominguez at the beginning of September does not lie primarily in either numbers or scouting.

Neither does it lie in any attachment that GM Brian Cashman or manager Aaron Boone might have to left fielder Alex Verdugo, a free-agent-to-be. And it obviously has nothing at all to do with the organization’s belief in Dominguez as an option at the position next season and beyond.

No, the decision that provoked outrage in the fan base over the weekend came down to this simple principle: Once the Yankees make the move that so many fans seem to want, they won’t be able to undo it.

Because of this, they know that they had better be extremely confident that Dominguez will immediately be more impactful than Verdugo.

It’s basic human psychology and clubhouse management.

Picture this sequence of events:

-- The Yankees recall Dominguez from Triple-A Scranton today.

-- There is no way around the fact that this move indicates to Verdugo that the team no longer believes in him (the Yankees do not see a left field timeshare as viable; when they bring up a prospect like Dominguez, they know they need to play him just about every day).

-- Dominguez does not produce this week or next.

-- The team, having already rejected and diminished Verdugo, enters the postseason without a confident left fielder.

For these reasons, calling up Dominguez would be a sneakily high-risk move -- though it is one that the Yankees might still make this month. They are watching Dominguez carefully. So far, his production during an injury-shortened year has been solid, including a .756 OPS in August, but not dynamic enough to make a no-doubt case that he can impact an MLB postseason at age 21.

Verdugo has, of course, struggled at the plate for much of the season (he is a strong defender, which is extremely important in the spacious left field at Yankee Stadium; see Gardner, Brett). No one with the Yankees denies that, and no one will be blindly loyal to Verdugo in late September and October if he can’t help. Does it need to be said that the team’s only desperate goal is to return to the World Series, regardless of who can get them there?

With Verdugo, the Yankees see underlying signs of improvement lately, and want to know if that will translate to better results. Sept. 1 was an arbitrary date, and the team did not regard it as the right time to make this significant of a decision.

If in seven or nine or 11 days Dominguez is destroying Triple-A pitching and Verdugo is floundering, the equation could change. But for now, the team with the best record in the American League does not feel a need to risk losing two left fielders with one impulsive move.

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