The Mariners did not have to wait long to see the downside of their surprise trade for Seranthony Dominguez.
Seattle acquired the right-hander from the White Sox in a Saturday night deal that sent RHP Luis Castillo to Chicago, but Dominguez’s first appearance in a Mariners uniform was a rough one. He entered Tuesday night with Seattle trailing 4-0 in the ninth, and any hope of a rally vanished fast.
Dominguez opened his outing with a leadoff walk to Javier Baez, then gave up a single to Zack McKinstry. He got Kevin McGonigle to ground out for the first out of the inning, though that play brought in a run.
From there, the inning spun out of control. Dominguez allowed home runs to Gleyber Torres and Dillon Dingler, then gave up a single to Riley Greene and a walk to Colt Keith before being pulled.
He was charged with four earned runs in just one third of an inning, and the Mariners lost 8-0.
White Sox fans had already seen plenty of this kind of outing from Dominguez early this season. The problems have often been the same: walks and home runs. That was exactly the script again on Tuesday.
For Chicago, the move away from Dominguez already looks like a win. The White Sox added Huascar Brazoban and found a taker for Dominguez, and that makes the bullpen picture look better even before factoring in what they might get from Castillo for the rest of the season. Castillo and Brazoban have not made their White Sox debuts yet, but both are expected to do so this week.
Seattle, meanwhile, is trying to hang around in the AL West race, and Dominguez is not the kind of arm they can afford to misuse. He has been too erratic to trust in leverage, and Tuesday’s outing was a quick reminder of why.
As a White Sox fan, I sure am glad he’s not our problem anymore. This White Sox roster is far from perfect, but I feel confident saying they upgraded in the bullpen, and seeing Seranthony Dominguez struggle with another team quickly only reinforces the reality we already knew.
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