Should Domínguez be the Phillies' Closer?

Perhaps the greatest saving grace of the 2022 Philadelphia Phillies (of which there aren't many) has been the healthy return of Seranthony Domínguez.

Ever since his emergence in 2018, Domínguez has been viewed as the future of a blighted Phillies bullpen. But expectations were carefully tempered, as nobody knew what to expect out of the 27 year-old righty after a two-year Tommy John recovery.

It's safe to say, after three years of trials and tribulations, the Seranthony of old has re-emerged.

His fastball is back up in the stratosphere, averaging out at 97.3 miles-per-hour, but topping as high as 100. His slider looks as decimating as ever, boasting a 48.5% whiff rate, and a 41.5% strikeout rate. Domínguez has even refined his changeup as a new weapon to utilize against left-handed hitters.

His 1.83 ERA across 19.2 innings this season tells you everything you need to know: the righty has been dominant.

Conversely, Domínguez' back-end bullpen counterpart in Corey Knebel just finished out a rotten month of May, blowing three of seven save opportunities, and allowing nine runs across 11.2 innings pitched.

Knebel has seemingly lost all feel for his curveball, a dismal sign for the right-hander. The pitch that was once among the most dominant in baseball now touts a pitiful +5 run value, and has opponents hitting a lofty .278 against it. What was, as of last year, a nearly even split in usage between his fastball (58%) and curveball (41%) has devolved into 71% and 29% split respectively in 2022.

It has become more than apparent that Knebel's go-to put-away pitch is not right, and that spells disaster for the Phillies down the line, even more so should they continue to utilize him as their primary closer.

So, why not give Knebel some time to get right out of a setup oriented role, and let Seranthony take over the closer position?

It's not like he hasn't done it before. Domínguez recorded 16 saves in his rookie season with the Phillies, and seemed to thrive in save situations.

Premium closers are hard to come by, but Seranthony seems to have the makeup for the role. He boasts electric stuff that is effective against both lefties and righties, and tends to thrive under pressure. In high leverage scenarios this season, Domínguez has held hitters to a .227 average, alongside a minuscule .273 slugging percentage.

The only consequence to shifting Domínguez out from of his current fireman role resides in the fact that he'd no longer be able to fill said role. Therefore, Joe Girardi may have to pivot to someone like Connor Brogdon, or perhaps Corey Knebel in jammed scenarios.

Still, it is hard to deny that Domínguez' value exponentially increases should he succeed out of the closer role, and his doing so would solve a near-decade-old problem. The Phillies have been without a proper closer since the days of Jonathan Papelbon and Ken Giles.

He has more than earned his shot and, should Corey Knebel's struggles persist, Seranthony Domínguez is more than deserving of a chance to usurp the Phillies' closer role.

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