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It seems that the reliever dam is about to break, with the Chicago Cubs losing out on a rumored target less than 72 hours before the MLB trade deadline. On Tuesday afternoon, the Baltimore Orioles sent relief pitcher Seranthony Dominguez and cash considerations to the Toronto Blue Jays for Juaron Watts-Brown.
The Toronto Blue Jays are acquiring right-handed reliever Seranthony Dominguez from the Baltimore Orioles for right-handed pitching prospect Juaron Watts-Brown, a source tells ESPN. @bnicholsonsmith and @ShiDavidi were on the news.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 29, 2025
Cubs get burned on bullpen buzz as deadline scramble begins
The priority for the Cubs ahead of the deadline appears to be on adding a starting pitcher while also hoping to pry Eugenio Suárez away from the Arizona Diamondbacks. That said, the Cubs have an inexperienced closer in Daniel Palencia. Not to mention, the Cubs' bullpen features veterans in Drew Pomeranz and Chris Flexen, who feature underlying metrics that suggest a regression is coming between now and the end of the season.
Over the weekend, the Cubs were connected to Dominguez as the team looks for another high-leverage relief pitcher to add to their bullpen mix. It would seem, after the Orioles' trade on Tuesday, that the relief market is about to heat up.
The trade of Dominguez likely will have a domino effect as teams look for bullpen help before Thursday's market. The relief market certainly took a hit on Monday when Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians landed on non-disciplinary leave as part of Major League Baseball's current sports-betting investigation.
Beyond Dominguez, the Cubs have also been connected to Pete Fairbanks of the Tampa Bay Rays and Raisel Iglesias of the Atlanta Braves.
In terms of a possible trade comp to what the Blue Jays gave up for Dominguez, Fairbanks wouldn't be a fair comparison, considering he has $7MM club option for 2026. Dominguez is a free agent after the season, pointing to Iglesias as the one who would likely have a similar cost.
Watts-Brown was the Blue Jays' No. 10 prospect. Brandon Birdsell is the pitching prospect who first comes to mind as the Cubs look for Major League bullpen help ahead of the deadline, but he's just now making his way back from an injury that had him sidelined for the entire season before this month. Packaging Jack Neely with a low-level prospect may be closer to the type of deal the Cubs are looking to make.