The Dodgers purchased the minor league contract of Jose Dominguez on Saturday, and slotted him into the bullpen.
Peter Moylan was designated for assignment in order to make room for Dominguez. He was not effective out of the pen, giving up 16 hits and eight runs in just 11.1 innings pitched for the Dodgers. Moylan accepted his assignment, and will head back to the minors.
As people start talking about Dominguez, the terms "flame-thrower," "100 MPH," and "suspension" are going to get tossed around a lot. Sort of in the same way “raw” and “powerful” were used excessively, but accurately, to describe Yasiel Puig.
The Dodgers signed Jose Dominguez at 16-years old, out of the Dominican Republic, where he played for three seasons in the Dominican Summer League. 2012 marked his first foray into the Minor League system, playing with the Dodgers Single-A and Double-A organizations.
One thing that hopefully will not affect Jose Dominguez’s career with the Dodgers any further is his past drug use. Twice he has been suspended for violating the MLB substance abuse program for a total of 75 games.
The first came in 2009 for a performance-enhancing substance, setting him down for 50 games. He was caught violating the drug policy again in November 2012, and spent the first 25 games of the Minor League season suspended.
Since the suspension he has pitched 25.1 innings, and is putting up fantastic numbers. Dominguez is sporting a 1.78 ERA after allowing five earned runs on nine hits and 13 walks with 40 strikeouts.
It is reported that he hits 100 mph on the speed gun consistently and has thrown as hard as 103 mph.
The Dodger bullpen has been a mess this season, but Paco Rodriguez, J.P. Howell and Kenley Jansen have proved that they are the most consistent relievers. Dominguez is not expected to fit in immediately with those pitchers, but if he can produce numbers that rounds him out at the bottom of the group without dropping into the Peter Moylan, Brandon League territor,y he will be a valuable asset.
Personally, I am just excited to see Dominguez toss in a couple smoking 100 mph pitches in his first appearance.
