A noteworthy aspect of baseball’s trade cutoff time is the capacity for deals to materialize almost anytime, between any franchises, even those engaged in a current series. Relief pitcher Seranthony Domínguez exemplified this on a particular Tuesday.
Domínguez commenced the day in his second stint with the Baltimore Orioles, who had obtained him near the previous year’s trade cutoff. Following a subsequent transaction, he found himself on the Toronto Blue Jays’ roster, delivering a scoreless inning against none other than the Baltimore Orioles.
Baltimore traded him to Toronto for pitching talent Juaron Watts-Brown during a break in a two-game series.
Domínguez took the mound in the latter half of the seventh inning, recording a strikeout against Colton Cowser, hitting Dylan Carlson with a delivery, then executing a pickoff move and striking out Jackson Holliday.
The transition for traded players to integrate into their new baseball squad tends to be smoother compared to other sports, owing to the sport’s individualized nature (limited strategies to grasp, primarily pitching cues), yet this specific trade transpired so swiftly that an oversight occurred.
Keen-eyed observers spotted that the number “8” on Domínguez’s jersey was inverted.
Domínguez, having dedicated his initial six professional seasons to the Philadelphia Phillies, was a logical trade asset for the Orioles leading up to the deadline. While they were acquirers in the prior season, the current year has posed challenges, with their performance standing at 50-58 as of that Tuesday, placing them at the bottom of the AL East standings.
Seranthony Domínguez is the top left player, after spending a game in the bottom bullpen earlier Tuesday. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
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This year has demonstrated improvement for Domínguez, who posted a 3.24 ERA and accumulated 54 strikeouts across 41 2/3 innings while with Baltimore. While still susceptible to occasional errant pitches, he maintained sufficient effectiveness to attract attention at a second consecutive deadline.
He integrates into a Toronto bullpen unit that, as of Tuesday, held the eighth position in MLB concerning ERA. The squad’s unforeseen ascent to the top spot necessitated reinforcements within the bullpen, potentially representing just one component of the Blue Jays’ strategies leading up to the 6 p.m. ET deadline on Thursday.
