Seranthony Domínguez is not to be trusted.
Whether it’s a high-leverage save situation, a lead to protect, or even mop-up duty, Domínguez will make you sweat it out for only $10 million a year. How many walks is enough? How many more blown leads do we have to watch? And how the hell is a pitcher with a respectable 3.62 ERA suddenly this bad?
After back-to-back blown saves against the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians last week, Friday night’s outing in Cleveland was Domínguez’s second appearance since losing the Chicago White Sox closer’s job. He proceeded to remind everyone why, though few needed one.
Jordan Hicks and Chris Murphy handed Domínguez a two-run cushion in the seventh inning following a lengthy weather delay that cut Anthony Kay’s start short by combining for five strikeouts over two scoreless innings.
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But Domínguez’s performance in the seventh inning looked a lot like his ninth innings this season. Too many baserunners and too few quality pitches. A five-pitch walk to lead off the inning. A strikeout. A wild pitch. Another walk. That was all it took for the White Sox lead to vanish.
Will Venable had seen enough, pulling Domínguez with runners on first and second in favor of Bryan Hudson. Both inherited runners scored, marking the ninth game across 33 appearances that Domínguez has allowed a run this season.
For much of the season, every appearance has felt like a high-wire act. Now, Domínguez is pitching without confidence, and the balls spiked in the dirt and late-inning collapses are beginning to pile up. But the warning signs have been there all along. The 31-year-old right-hander walks far too many hitters, struggles to keep the ball on the ground, and when he does find the zone, opponents have made him pay.
That steady stream of traffic on the basepaths has resulted in Domínguez being just 12-for-17 in save opportunities, his five blown saves tied for the second-most in MLB.
The underlying numbers are equally troubling. His walk rate sits near 14%, an alarming figure for any late-inning reliever, let alone one signed to a two-year, $20 million deal to close games for the White Sox. While he is still showing that he can generate plenty of whiffs when opponents do make contact, they are hitting Domínguez hard to the tune of a 91 mph average exit velocity and a near 39% hard-hit rate.
What’s most frustrating is that the White Sox acquired Domínguez specifically to solve their bullpen problems, not become one. His electric stuff made him look like the ideal closer on paper. He throws in the upper 90s, has a wipeout sweeper, and misses a lot of bats, entering the year with 40 career saves.
But poor fastball command has eroded that trust. As the White Sox fight to stay in a tight division race, every blown lead hurts more than the last, and the team can no longer afford to keep rolling the dice with Domínguez in high-leverage situations.
