As Seranthony Domínguez walked off the mound at Citizens Bank Park in the top of the seventh inning Sunday, you were forced to consider whether this version of the right-hander is capable of being a high-leverage arm for the Philadelphia Phillies in October.
Across 1 1/3 innings of work against the Oakland Athletics Sunday, Domínguez allowed three hits — two of which were home runs — and four earned runs. On the season, Domínguez now has a 4.76 ERA across 36 games pitched. He’s struggled with his control, and at times, it’s appeared like he’s found the strike zone by accident. He’s been a far cry from the pitcher who two seasons ago was instrumental for a Phillies team that won the NL pennant.
Manager Rob Thomson said postgame that he remains confident in Domínguez, while acknowledging there are some things the 29-year-old needs to clean up.
“I always trust him,” Thomson said. “He’s got a great arm, he’s just gotta throw strikes. Get ahead of people and put them away. Take away today and he’s actually thrown the ball decent — he’s thrown better than he was earlier in the season. So, I still trust him.”
Domínguez was not available to speak after the game because he had a family commitment.
Carried by a pair of All-Stars in Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahm, the Phillies led baseball in WAR among relievers entering the day, per FanGraphs. Orion Kerkering pitched well as an opener Sunday afternoon, and has generally been impressive over the first half of the season. José Alvarado has had a few blowups, but between April and June, posted a 1.95 ERA across 34 appearances.
The Phillies might have enough internally to win a World Series right now, but you would feel much better if Domínguez and/or Gregory Soto — both of whom have elite stuff and have had dominant stretches in their career — was more of a sure thing. But Soto has been prone to the occasional blowup since joining the Phillies last year, while Domínguez has a 4.18 ERA since the start of the 2023 season.
Not necessarily knowing what you will get from Domínguez and Soto from outing to outing is why adding another reliever capable of taking down high-leverage innings might have to be a priority for the Phillies before the July 30 trade deadline. The Phillies have been reported to have interest in Tanner Scott of the Miami Marlins and Michael Kopech of the Chicago White Sox.
That doesn’t mean Domínguez won’t be part of the Phillies for the remainder of this year. But things are trending now towards him being the sixth or seventh arm out of the bullpen in October, and the Phillies declining his $8 million player option for 2025. Perhaps he’ll be able to change the trajectory of his season (and future with the Phillies) after the All-Star Break.
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