The Blue Jays were right to let Seranthony Domínguez leave in free agency

MLB free agency is sometimes just as much about who you don’t sign as who you do—Seranthony Domínguez falls into the latter category for the Toronto Blue Jays. 

General manager Ross Atkins let the hard-throwing righty walk after a solid stint with the team down the stretch and into the playoffs. He provided the 2025 bullpen with some much-needed velocity after being acquired at the trade deadline from the Baltimore Orioles. 

Many fans understandably wanted the Blue Jays to bring back Domínguez, especially considering the sheer number of question marks the team appeared to have in its bullpen heading into 2026. But that didn’t happen. He signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the Chicago White Sox after Toronto chose to sign Tyler Rogers instead. Hindsight is always 20/20, but the early returns on this decision are extremely positive.

What has gone wrong for Domínguez in Chicago so far?

Domínguez pitched some of the best baseball of his eight-year career in Toronto, working to a 3.00 ERA (147 ERA+) with 25 strikeouts in 21 innings as a Blue Jay in 2025.  The veteran has become somewhat of a mercenary in recent years, frequently getting traded to contending teams halfway through the season. His skillset usually comes as advertised: he throws hard, keeps the ball in the ballpark, and walks too many batters. 

A quick glance at his stats would suggest he’s largely been the same guy he’s always been in Chicago thus far. However, upon deeper inspection, it’s clear that he isn’t executing at quite the same level as he has been over the past few seasons. 

Domínguez’s 4.96 FIP would be his worst ever if the season ended today. His ERA, WHIP, K/9, and HR/9 are all worse than his career averages. He’s also blown four of his 16 save opportunities while working as Chicago’s primary closer. 

The underlying metrics suggest more regression could be coming considering his expected ERA (4.98) is almost a run higher than his actual ERA (3.86). He’s giving up more hard contact than he did last year; his average exit velocity allowed has fallen from the 89th percentile to the 7th. He’s also getting barrelled more and generating less chase.

This version of Domínguez is hardly worthy of a $10-million annual salary. Teams likely won’t be lining up to take him off Chicago’s hand at this year’s trade deadline even if they come back down to Earth and decide to sell off some of their veteran players.

Tyler Rogers, meanwhile, has pitched to a 1.77 ERA through his first 37 appearances. He hasn’t been barrelled once all year and ranks in the 100th percentile with an astounding 67% groundball rate. The front office chose the right guy. 

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