Welcome to another edition of the Orioles Beat newsletter. The O’s opened a three-game series vs. the Royals in Kansas City on Friday night and will play two more games there before heading to Phoenix for a three-game set against the D-backs. BALTIMORE -- A newly placed coffee machine sat in the back-left corner of Seranthony Domínguez’s locker inside the Orioles’ clubhouse at Camden Yards on Thursday morning. Amid the standard commotion of players coming and going, the 30-year-old stood quietly, inserted a pod and began to brew his morning beverage. Domínguez left for the kitchen and returned with a disposable cup to sit below the dispenser. Then, once it was filled, he reached down into the cubby of his locker and pulled out a shaker of nutmeg -- a key ingredient for coffee in Domínguez’s hometown of Esperanza Valverde Mao, Dominican Republic. “I love it. I used to drink coffee every single day,” Domínguez said. “It’s my first coffee this year in this machine.” There’s a reason for that. Domínguez bought this particular coffee machine last year, but he wasn’t sure if he’d be returning to Baltimore for the 2025 campaign. So heading into the offseason, he packed up his belongings and waited in limbo. |
Once the Orioles picked up Domínguez’s $8 million team option, he knew it’d be safe to ship his stuff back to Baltimore for the upcoming year. When the O’s returned home from their season-opening series in Toronto on Monday, Domínguez found his possessions in his locker. “I get back, and she was waiting for me,” Domínguez said of his coffee machine with a smile. The Orioles, meanwhile, spent much of Spring Training waiting for Domínguez to look more like himself and return to the form he showed during the second half of the 2024 season, the reason the team decided to bring him back. The right-handed reliever was a key member of Baltimore’s bullpen after being traded over from Philadelphia last July 26, recording a 3.97 ERA and 10 saves in 25 appearances. But Domínguez had a bumpy month-plus in Sarasota, where he pitched to a 19.50 ERA (13 earned runs in six innings) over six Grapefruit League appearances. Last year, he sometimes struggled to keep the ball in the park (six home runs allowed over 22 2/3 innings for the O’s). That was a bigger problem this spring, as he gave up five homers in limited exhibition action. “We saw [good results] for the majority of the time last year. He had a couple hiccups and gave up some solo homers,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “But for the most part, it’s an upper-90s fastball with a really good breaking ball.” |
The stuff was still there in Spring Training. The confidence may not have been. There was never any doubt Domínguez would make the team. Because of that, he was eager for spring to end and for the bright lights of the regular season to be turned on. “Spring Training was tough for me, because every time that I went out, I tried to compete and tried my 100 percent,” Domínguez said. “I just was waiting to finish Spring Training and start the season to not think about it anymore. This is the moment that I work for, and this is the moment that’s most important right now.” That was apparent during the first week of the 2025 season. Domínguez made three appearances over the Orioles’ first five games, and each was scoreless. He needed only eight pitches to retire the two Blue Jays batters he faced in last Saturday’s win. Then, he set down all three Red Sox hitters he encountered in order in the sixth inning of Monday’s victory. Domínguez made some slight mechanical adjustments to help him feel more comfortable on the mound. He’s also relying heavily on the sweeper he added to his repertoire last season, increasing the usage of the pitch from 18% to 27.7% (after three outings). The breaking offering is responsible for five of the six whiffs he induced over his first three appearances. |
If Domínguez can continue to string together solid outings, it’ll help solidify his role as one of Baltimore’s top setup men for high-leverage spots in late innings. “I think we play a confidence game,” fellow right-handed reliever Bryan Baker said. “Especially as a reliever, I think you need to be believing in yourself and be super confident. You can’t let a couple bad outings in spring weigh on you too much. It’s like, ‘We’ve been doing this for too long to be affected by that too much.’ … “I think he’s done a great job, and it’s very apparent that he’s back and confident. It’s way more important to be locked in right now than it is in the first week of March. I’m really excited where he’s at, for sure.” |
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Félix Bautista made his return from Tommy John surgery last Saturday, when the 29-year-old right-hander tossed a scoreless inning in an Orioles win. However, that outing came at Rogers Centre in Toronto. The All-Star closer was still waiting for his return to the Camden Yards mound -- the place he tore his right UCL on Aug. 25, 2023. On Monday, “The Mountain” returned to Baltimore. Bautista received the largest ovation of any O’s player who ran down the ceremonial orange carpet for the home opener. Then, he was again showered with cheers upon his entry into the game in the ninth inning. The Omar whistle from “The Wire” played. The lights flickered. Bautista trotted to the mound. He was truly back. “It was excellent,” Bautista said of the fan response via team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “Getting that euphoria and adrenaline from the fans is something that I really missed. It was great to be a part of, great to hear. And I even got a little emotional once I felt that coming into the game. So it was awesome.” |
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