By Jacob Becquey

In the midst of a doubleheader against the Orioles. the Blue Jays completed a trade for their rival team’s best remaining reliever, Seranthony Dominguez, along with Cash Considerations for No 10 Prospect Juaron Watts-Brown. Seranthony Dominguez certainly raises the ceiling for a first-place Toronto team, but how does this trade fair for both sides?

Trade Grades

Blue Jays: A-

The Blue Jays acquiring Dominguez is the exact type of move they need for this bullpen. The Blue Jays have many great relievers in Rodriguez, Little, and Fisher, with pieces like Fluharty and Nance helping when needed. However, with a struggling Hoffman and Chad Green being DFA’d, the MLB’s 19th-ranked bullpen by WAR has gotten thinner than it has been the past few months.

Dominguez provides a solid arm with tons of strikeout potential with an 11.89 K/9, while also limiting home runs with a HR/9 rate below 1. However, he does walk a good amount of batters, allowing a career-high 24 in this half of the season. Even with the walks, Dominguez gives Toronto an excellent depth piece that can preform in high leverage down the stretch while also receiving some cash.

Orioles: A

With an extremely disappointing 2025 season and an expiring deal on Dominguez, it was a no-brainer to let go of the reliever. Getting a AA pitcher with a decent ERA and K potential makes it even better.

Watts-Brown now ranks as the O’s No. 8 prospect and No. 4 pitching prospect. The 23-year-old is expected to debut in the 2026 season, according to MLB Pipeline, and could serve as either a good arm in either a bullpen or a rotation in the future. The Orioles are rolling the dice with this prospect, but with Dominguez on an expiring deal, they are absolutely in the right to gamble on a prospect, especially with the front office not spending that much money.

Fantasy Spin

For the Fantasy owners out there, hearing that Dominguez is headed to a better bullpen may be scary. However, this move could actually benefit a pitcher like Dominguez. The reliever had great numbers against righties, allowing just a .127 AVG to them. This could mean Dominguez joins Little as the premier righty-threats in close games for the Jays. Expect Dominguez to continue his role as a high-end reliever primarily facing right-handed bats, while racking up plenty of Holds and maybe a few Saves down the stretch.

The Implication: What does this mean for Toronto?

The main takeaway from the Dominguez trade is that Ross Atkins is willing to make moves for the team. Acquiring the reliever is not a major, World-Series clinching move, but it can serve to be a jumping-off point for a Toronto team currently tied for first place in the AL.

A starter, a bat, another reliever, there are plenty of places Atkins and co. could improve. Whether it will be a Joe Ryan or a Zac Gallen is still up in the air, of course, but the dominos have started to fall. It’ll be an exciting couple of days for Jays fans.