Shortly after the Toronto Blue Jays were embarrassed by the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of their doubleheader, they completed a trade with their AL East rivals, acquiring reliever Seranthony Dominguez in exchange for pitching prospect Juaron Watts-Brown, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.
Jays getting Seranthony Dominguez and cash for Juaron Watts-Brown source tells me and @ShiDavidi
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) July 29, 2025
You don't see this very often. There's every reason to believe Dominguez will be available for the Jays in Game 2 of the doubleheader, as all he'll have to do is change clubhouses.
At first glance, this trade makes a lot of sense for both teams. The Jays needed bullpen help, and added a veteran reliever who, while not Ryan Helsley or Jhoan Duran, will give them more relief depth nonetheless. As for the Orioles, they traded another veteran who is on an expiring contract in the midst of a brutal year.
While it makes sense for both sides, one team comes out on top in this deal.
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Blue Jays acquire much-needed bullpen help, but pay steep price
This isn't the blockbuster Jays fans are hoping to see, but this is a trade that helps plug a gaping hole. The bullpen has been an underrated strength for the Jays this season, but with Yimi Garcia and Nick Sandlin out for a little while, and Ryan Burr done for the year, they needed arms they can trust. Dominguez certainly classifies as such.
The right-hander has a 3.24 ERA in 43 appearances and 41.2 innings of work for the O's this season, and he's held right-handed hitters to a .127/.266/.177 slash line. He's struggled against lefties, and his walks are up, but his 30.9 percent strikeout rate is as high as it's been since his rookie year in 2018, and his 2.3 percent home run rate is as low as it's been since 2022.
It's not a big-name reliever, and the Jays did give up an intriguing prospect for a two-month rental, but there's no sugarcoating how big of an upgrade Dominguez is over the likes of Chad Green and Mason Fluharty. Prices at the deadline are always steep, especially in a seller's market.
Blue Jays trade grade: B-
For the Orioles, it's hard not to like this deal. Dominguez pitched well for the O's this season, but he's a rental who's very replaceable. 23-year-old right-hander Juaron Watts-Brown is Toronto's No. 10 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, and he might not be too far away from being big league ready. It's hard to call this anything but good business for Baltimore.
Watts-Brown, Toronto's third-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, began the season in High-A, but 11 of his 19 starts have come at the Double-A level. His numbers at that level have been rock-solid, as he's posted a 3.48 ERA in 51.2 innings of work, and he's fanned over a batter an inning. Overall, he's posted a 3.54 ERA and has 115 strikeouts in 89 innings of work.
This Orioles team is pitching-starved. Mike Elias' primary goal of this trade deadline should be to sell his rentals in exchange for intriguing pitching prospects, and that's exactly what he did with Dominguez. Orioles fans look forward to more Elias deals.