The MLB Trade Deadline sits roughly 48 hours away, meaning the market should heat up quickly. On Tuesday afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays got out ahead of the pack and acquired a fireballing reliever to bolster their bullpen by acquiring Seranthony Dominguez from the Baltimore Orioles.
While not exactly a blockbuster, the move is notable since it added a great swing-and-miss arm to the Blue Jays’ bullpen and might cause a couple more dominoes to fall as the deadline approaches on July 31 at 6 p.m. ET. Let’s take a look at who the Orioles got in return for Dominguez.
The Baltimore Orioles received one prospect for Seranthony Dominguez:
RHP Juaron Watts-Brown
Losing a reliever whose savant profile grades out in the top quartile across most metrics hurts, but the Orioles’ season was lost long ago. Making deals with the future in mind makes plenty of sense and they received the No. 10 prospect in Toronto’s organization as the return for Dominguez, who enters free agency after this season.
A 23-year-old right-handed starter, Juaron Watts-Brown was selected by the Blue Jays in the third round of the 2023 MLB Draft. He started 21 games at the A and A+ levels last year, and while his rate stats of a 4.72 ERA and 1.43 WHIP didn’t look too hot, he struck out an impressive 131 batters over 103 innings. That resulted in an 11.45 K/9 and clearly looked like something to build on moving forward as he utilizes a whiff-heavy slider as his best pitch.
Watts-Brown started eight games in A+ ball this season before earning a call-up to Double-A, where he’s performed quite respectably. The right-hander is just 2-2 in his 11 starts but has a 3.48 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 53 strikeouts across 51.2 innings of work. While his strikeout rate has dropped and he’s still walking more batters than the organization would likely prefer, Watts-Brown has only allowed 38 hits with a .201 AVG and a 2.56 BABIP. If he can either lower his walk rate or bump his strikeout rate back up, there may be a path for him to see a promotion at some point in the near future.
Following the trade, Watts-Brown now slots in as the No. 8 prospect in Baltimore’s system.
Will the Orioles trade more players before the MLB Trade Deadline?
At 49-58 and last place in the AL East, the Orioles look like they may emerge as one of the top sellers at the deadline later this week.
There are a handful of names who have drawn significant interest from other teams. All-Star Ryan O’Hearn is posting some of the best numbers of his career with a .283 AVG and an .825 OPS, so it’s easy to see why other MLB franchises are interested in the 32-year-old first baseman. The same goes for outfielder Ramon Laureano with an .875 OPS and 15 home runs.
Centerfielder Cedric Mullins isn’t enjoying the same high-level success but has shown plenty of upside in years past and has been rumored as a trade candidate for multiple teams. Finally, veteran starter Charlie Morton’s name has also popped up in trade conversations as well.
Stay tuned to DraftKings Network over the coming days to catch the latest MLB Trade Deadline buzz.
