The stats support the Orioles' decision to promote Seranthony Dominguez to closer

When Felix Bautista went down last August with a right elbow injury necessitating Tommy John surgery, it created a mountain-sized hole at the back of the Orioles' bullpen. Uncertainty emerged.

Over the offseason, some of that uncertainty was assuaged when the Orioles signed veteran closer and future Hall of Famer Craig Kimbrel to fill Bautista's spot. But Kimbrel's struggles with his command and consistency have created new questions and more uncertainty. The surprise answer to the uncertainty at the backend of the bullpen has seemingly come out of nowhere: new closer Seranthony Dominguez.

The Orioles acquired Dominguez and utility outfielder Christian Pache from the Phillies in July for long-time Oriole Austin Hays. The original thought was that Dominguez and fellow new acquisition Gregory Soto would support - but not supplant - the backend duo of Craig Kimbrel and Yennier Cano.

To put it mildly, Dominguez and Soto have gone in different directions since their respective trades. Dominguez has seemingly grasped the closer role from a struggling Craig Kimbrel, with Cano remaining in his familiar set up role. And the move appears to be paying off. Dominguez has been lights out since joining the Orioles, allowing only one run and four hits over nine innings of work. He has struck out ten batters and is 2-2 in saves, with the two saves coming in the Orioles' last two save opportunities.

Dominguez mixes a 97 mph fastball with an 88.5 mph slider, which has been his most effective pitch since joining the Orioles. Hitters have a 39.3% whiff rate on the slider, nearly 18% better than the 21.8% whiff rate on the four-seamer. In addition, opposing batters are hitting just .141 on the slider, which has served as Dominguez's primary put-away pitch. He has recorded 32 of his 50 strikeouts on the slider.

Seranthony Dominguez is stealing the closer role from Craig Kimbrel

The writing has been on the wall for Dominguez's assent to closer for the last few weeks. Although he did not earn his first Orioles' save until Saturday night in Tampa, the right-hander has frequently warmed in the Orioles' bullpen when the team has the lead late.

For example, in the Orioles' August 4 win in Cleveland, the Orioles had Dominguez ready for the ninth inning in case Cleveland scored a run in the seventh or eighth. The Orioles 9-5 win wound up not being a save situation, but Dominguez still pitched the final inning to wrap up the win. The same thing happened in the Orioles 7-3 win in Toronto on August 7, with Cano pitching the seventh and Kimbrel remaining in the bullpen. (Noticing this trend, I picked up Dominguez in my fantasy league last week and am now reaping the benefits.)

In his last save against Washington, Dominguez showed true grit, walking the stubborn Andre Chaparro on ten pitches before quickly fanning Luis Garcia and inducing a game-ending double play from Keibert Ruiz.

To top it off, Dominguez has some closing experiencing, saving 16 out of 20 games for the Phillies in 2018 and 9 out of 11 in 2022. Dominguez is a more affordable option at closer than Tanner Scott, who many wanted the Orioles to acquire at the deadline.

While he is likely to return to a set up role next season with Bautista returning to fill the mountain-sized void he created, it appears, at least for now, that the Orioles can feel a bit more comfortable going into the ninth inning with a lead.