Blue Jays strike impact trade with Orioles midway through Tuesday's doubleheader

Ross Atkins is finally active and has pulled through with the Blue Jays' first deal ahead of the MLB trade deadline. The AL East leaders are officially upgrading their roster in a deal with a division rival.

Toronto is acquiring right-handed reliever Seranthony Dominguez from the Orioles in exchange for pitching prospect Juaron Watts-Brown. This is exactly what the team needed and this likely will not be the last bullpen addition this team makes.

Dominguez has been excellent this season, posting a 3.24 ERA with a 3.47 FIP and a 11.66 K/9. He has been one of the most reliable arms in the Orioles’ bullpen and will now bolster the Blue Jays' unit. This comes at a time of need for Toronto as the bullpen has a handful of pieces that need to go.

Chad Green and Tommy Nance must be replaced as soon as possible. Neither are exactly high-leverage relievers, yet both have cost the team recently. Dominguez can be used in high-leverage situations, deepening this bullpen.

Jeff Hoffman should remain the closer with Yariel Rodriguez as the setup man. Brendon Little will continue to be a lefty specialist with Domínguez joining that strong three in the game's most tense moments.

Blue Jays trade for Orioles reliever Seranthony Dominguez

Going back to Baltimore is Watts-Brown, the Blue Jays' 10th-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline. For a rental, this seems like a little much, but Atkins had to be aggressive to land a guy of this caliber. They have developed a deep pitching pipeline that is getting closer to the big leagues too, so this loss doesn’t hurt a whole lot even though Watts-Brown is a promising prospect. On the season, he has posted a 3.54 ERA across 89 innings with 115 strikeouts and a 1.21 WHIP.

If possible, now the Blue Jays should also look for a left-handed reliever now that they’ve secured Dominguez. Maybe Caleb Ferguson from the Pirates could do. He would be cheaper than Dominguez and leads baseball in average exit velocity. Adding him would help Toronto make a bigger splash for a quality starting pitcher.