Phillies right-hander Seranthony Dominguez has spent much of the 2019 season trying to avoid Tommy John surgery, though an upcoming medical examination could finally send the former closer under the knife. As manager Gabe Kapler told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury and other reporters, Dominguez will be examined by the head of the Phillies medical staff this week after the righty experienced elbow soreness during his most recent throwing session.
Dominguez has been sidelined since early June, and it seemed like surgery was all but assured after tests revealed a damaged ulnar collateral ligament. Instead, Dominguez opted for a PRP treatment after a consultation with Dr. James Andrews, in the hopes that the reliever could potentially heal in time for a return before season’s end. Now, “one would suspect that surgery is a strong possibility” if Dominguez is still sore after all this time, Salisbury writes.
After bursting into the majors with an impressive 2018 rookie season, Dominguez’s performance took a step back, though he was still largely an effective reliever over 24 2/3 frames for the 2019 Phillies. Dominguez posted a 4.01 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 54.5% grounder rate, and 2.42 K/BB, though an increased homer rate and big BABIP jump (.220 in 2018 to .323 in 2019) conspired to boost the 24-year-old’s ERA over a full run beyond his 2.95 mark from last season.
Though Dominguez wasn’t expected to factor into save situations quite as often, the Phillies were still excited to see what the homegrown product with the 97.8 mph fastball could do in his sophomore campaign. Instead, Dominguez was one of a seemingly endless string of injured Philadelphia relievers, and should Tommy John surgery indeed be his fate, he’ll also miss the entire 2020 season.
Fight for what is right…time to prove TG can heal before becoming elective
Sadly, that hasn’t been the outcome
Should he be knighted, does he become known as Sir Seranthony?