MLB trade regrade: Phillies gifted Orioles a bullpen implosion in Seranthony Dominguez

The Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles engineered the rare mutually beneficial trade between first-place teams at the deadline. At least, that is how it was perceived in the moment. Philadelphia addressed a pressing weakness in the outfield, while Baltimore received much-needed bullpen reinforcements in return.

Austin Hays was sent to the Phillies in exchange for right-handed reliever Seranthony Dominguez and centerfielder Cristian Pache. The latter was waived not long after, so the essence of this trade boils down to Hays for Dominguez. Both are 29 years old, and both are under contract through next season. All things equal, there appears to be a clear winner right now.

Trades age over time. We will have a whole new perspective on this swap once the 2025 campaign concludes. In this current moment, however, one has to imagine the Orioles feel a bit silly. Hays has been a productive, everyday starter for the Phillies in left field. Dominguez was quickly elevated to the closing spot in the O's bullpen, but the results have been... decidely mixed.

Dominguez's last two outings ended with walk-off bombs surrendered to the New York Mets. As Baltimore trades blows with the New York Yankees atop the AL East standings, every win counts. The O's were in position to potentially sweep a series against the surging Mets, but Dominguez blew his two save opportunities in a three-game span. It's deja vu in Baltimore.

The O's recently demoted Craig Kimbrel to a low-leverage role because the former Phillies closer just can't get a handle on ninth innings. Dominguez was effectively his replacement, again sourced from Philadelphia, and here we are. The Orioles bullpen still needs a major facelift.

Re-grading Phillies, Orioles trade centered on Austin Hays and Seranthony Dominguez

Since arriving in Baltimore, Dominguez has appeared in 12 games (11.0 innings) with a 3.27 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. He has three saves in eight games finished, and most notably, a couple blown saves.

Those numbers certainly aren't catastrophic on the surface, and there's a good chance that Dominguez's output normalizes in subsequent outings. The hard-throwing righty has mean stuff, with a strikeout rate in the 82 percentile and a hard-hit rate in the 86th percentile. That is a tough needle to thread, and Dominguez generally isn't prone to an onslaught of home runs.

All the same, it's impossible to ignore back-to-back walk-off bombs. Dominguez is absolutely a bankable bullpen weapon, but not every fireballing relief arm is built to be the closer. Baltimore's alternatives are limited at this point, but it's clear Dominguez cannot occupy this role in the playoffs. Well, he can, but the O's won't feel great about it.

As for Hays in Philadelphia, the results have been just about on par with expectations. He has spent the last couple weeks on the mend from a hamstring strain, but Hays is expected back in the lineup shortly for the stretch run.

This trade was not universally popular in Philadelphia, but the majority of the complaints invoked a broader context. It wasn't the specific move that irked Phillies fans — Hays addressed a clear hole in the outfield. It was the lack of subsequent moves that brought Dave Dombrowski's strategy into question. Hays should have been one of multple additions to the outfield depth chart, rather than Philadelphia's lone offensive boost.

In a vacuum, though, Hays is the Phils' full-time left fielder and he's performing at his standard level (.263/.282/.395 with one home run, four RBI in 39 AB since his arrival). Hays would profile better as a platoon option opposite Brandon Marsh, but we must grade the hand we're dealt.

Philadelphia undoubtedly feels like the victor in this transaction. That could change in time, of course, but Dominguez has quickly devolved into meme fodder in the O's bullpen. The primary storylines in Baltimore revolve around the need to replace or upgrade Dominguez's role. There is no such discourse around Hays and the Phillies. There is a sense that Philadelphia could've done more, but the Hays move in and of itself was a useful addition.

At the time of the trade, FanSided's Zachary Rotman handed the Phillies a 'B' and the Orioles a 'B-' in the grade book. With the stretch run upon us and the 2024 MLB Playoffs within sight, we can at least adjust Baltimore's mark.

Phillies trade grade: B
Orioles trade grade: C