Right-handed reliever Seranthony Domínguez and the Chicago White Sox are in agreement on a two-year, $20 million contract with a mutual option, sources told ESPN, adding another veteran to a White Sox team that has been among the most active in baseball this winter.
The deal, which is pending a physical, positions Domínguez at the back end of a young White Sox bullpen and is the third multiyear contract Chicago has handed out this winter. Japanese star Munetaka Murakami and left-hander Anthony Kay also received two-year deals.
With them, free agent left-hander Sean Newcomb and the Luis Robert Jr. trade that netted Luisangel Acuna, the White Sox are piecing together their best roster in years as they aim to transition from the record 121-loss season in 2024 to eventual contention.
Domínguez brings stability to the late innings, where he has pitched since debuting with Philadelphia in 2018. With some of the best raw stuff in baseball — each of Domínguez’s five pitches is above average, and his fastball sits at 98 mph — he’ll enter the season as the White Sox’s closer, joining young, hard-throwing right-handers Grant Taylor and Jordan Leasure to form a big-stuff bullpen.
Consistent strike-throwing has been Domínguez’s bugaboo, and if he can do so, the White Sox will have either a cost-effective closer or a strong trade candidate to offer at the July deadline. Domínguez moved from Baltimore to Toronto at the deadline last year and posted arguably his best season, throwing a career-high 62⅔ innings and striking out 79 with 36 walks and five home runs allowed.
He was the best relief pitcher still available after a run on closers in the early part of free agency and parlayed the paucity of closer-caliber arms into a multiyear deal that includes incentives that can push his total guarantee to $22 million, sources said. The mutual option is extremely unlikely to be picked up, regardless of where Domínguez is playing.
