Update: MLB Pipeline’s Sam Dykstra reports that Dominguez will be available for tonight’s game:
The deal is official.
The Blue Jays announce that Seranthony Domínguez has already reported to the team and will be active for tonight’s game.
Easiest commute he’ll ever have.
— Sam Dykstra (@samdykstramilb.bsky.social) 2025-07-29T21:36:47.781Z
Chad Green has been DFA’d as the corresponding roster move.
Ben Nicholson-Smith reports that the Blue Jays have traded Juaron Watts-Brown to the Orioles for Seranthony Dominguez. You don’t see a lot of intra-division trades, but the Jays need pitching now and the Orioles desperately need to rebuild their stock of pitching prospects if they hope to make anything out of their young position player core.
Dominguez is a high quality setup reliever, with a career 3.54 ERA and a 3.24 mark so far this season. He features a 98mph fastball, but his best pitch is a wipe-out slider and this season he’s added a splitter that he can use as a weapon against lefties. He’s a rental, but should bolster the bullpen in a major way down the stretch.
Watts-Brown was the Jays’ third round pick in 2023. We ranked him as the Jays’ number 12 prospect over the winter, and that’s probably still about where he sat before the trade. He’s made it as far as AA, posting a 3.48 ERA in 11 starts as a Fisher Cat. He features a plus gyro slider as well as a quality curveball, both of which have great spin rates. His change up is also an average pitch, but his 93mph fastball isn’t overwhelming on velocity and is fairly straight. That, combined with fringy command, has lead to some walk issues as Watts-Brown has to lean on his breaking stuff and can fall behind in counts. He’s most likely to end up in a bullpen, although some refinement in his command could allow him to work as a backwards-pitching five and dive starter.
Overall this seems like a palatable price. Watts-Brown is a real prospect, but if he’s ever as good as Dominguez is right now that’s a pretty good outcome. You have to pay a premium at the deadline, especially for good relievers, and that’s what the front office has done.
What do you think of the deal?