Phillies avoid arbitration with RHP Seranthony Dominguez

The Phillies have signed RHP Seranthony Dominguez to a 1-year deal.

Despite him having not pitched in a big-league game since June 2019, and being expected to miss most of the 2021 season, the Philadelphia Phillies and hard-throwing right-hander Seranthony Dominguez have agreed to a one-year deal worth $727,500, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

Dominguez joined Zach Eflin, David Hale, Rhys Hoskins, Andrew Knapp, Hector Neris, and Vince Velasquez as among the seven Phillies players eligible for salary arbitration this offseason. The agreement comes ahead of the December 2 deadline whether to non-tender or offer these players a non-guaranteed contract for the 2021 season — where the two sides would potentially then head to an arbitration hearing in February if a deal is not reached beforehand.

Arbitration-eligible players who are not extended an offer are deemed “non-tendered” and immediately become free agents; the Phillies did this last offseason with infielders Cesar Hernandez and Maikel Franco.

By avoiding arbitration with Dominguez, the right-hander is on a guaranteed deal for the 2021 season. Dominguez underwent the reconstructive Tommy John elbow procedure in late July, and could very well miss a significant chunk of the 2021 season. Still, the Phillies are bringing him back on a cheaper deal than what he was projected to earn in arbitration — $900,000.

The 26-year-old has appeared in 80 games out of the bullpen since his May 2018 debut, going 5-5 with a 3.27 ERA, 1.089 WHIP, and 103-34 strikeouts-to-walks ratio spanning 82 2/3 innings.

“The Phillies must ask themselves if they can stomach the potential price to keep him in the fold or non-tender him and risk losing him,” MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki wrote earlier this offseason. “A team that believes in Dominguez’s talent might try to steal him.”

The Phillies did not want to take that chance, hence their deal announced on Tuesday. Dominguez’s absence has surely been felt; if he returns healthy, he immediately would rank as one of the more talented relievers in the big-league bullpen.