If it wasn’t for the self-destruction of the White Sox bullpen on Sunday afternoon, the south siders would be heading home tied for first place in the AL Central despite a losing road trip. Instead, a tough road trip quickly became a disaster when the Tigers, down to their final out, came back to tie the game against White Sox closer Seranthony Dominguez and went on to win the game in extra innings. The White Sox will now head home just two games over .500 with a critical series against the Guardians best starters awaiting. For Seranthony Dominguez, frequently self-destructing is starting to become a scary trend, and the White Sox need to figure out a solution soon. As far as I’m concerned, they have three options.
Option 1: Make Grant Taylor the closer
Flamethrowing right-hander Grant Taylor has been the best reliever in the White Sox bullpen this season, and he has the stuff to be an elite closer in Major League Baseball. The problem is, the White Sox seem to be building him toward the starting rotation in the next couple years. This has led to several multi-inning outings, including opening a handful of times, and a hesitancy to use Taylor strictly in high-leverage spots. I’d argue, however, that the White Sox can make him the closer and continue to give him multi-inning opportunities. The ability to get six and even nine-out saves would make Taylor one of the most valuable relievers in baseball, and he’s a more reliable option than Dominguez in the ninth.
Grant Taylor, K'ing the Side in the 9th pic.twitter.com/eAizlviLia
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 6, 2026
With Dominguez, the White Sox have encountered the same problem that his past teams have. He’s very effective in a setup role but his inconsistency is a problem in the ninth inning. The numbers speak for themselves. Following Sunday’s meltdown, Dominguez raised his 9th inning ERA to 4.67. In the eighth inning this season, he has a 2.84 ERA, and he hasn’t allowed a run in two seventh inning appearances. Perhaps shifting Dominguez into a setup role and giving Taylor the save opportunities could be a more efficient use of resources.
Option 2: Trade for an established closer
It’s only June 22nd and many teams haven’t begun their trade deadline activity, especially with the MLB Draft coming up in just a couple weeks. But the past few weeks of games have made the White Sox trade deadline needs abundantly clear: pitching, pitching, and more pitching. An established closer added to the mix could allow the White Sox to use both Seranthony Dominguez and Grant Taylor in setup roles to complement Sean Newcomb and Bryan Hudson. Closers with control aren’t cheap, but a rental like Red Sox flamethrower Aroldis Chapman could make a ton of sense. Even a middle relief arm like Antonio Senzatela from Colorado could make the White Sox more comfortable using Grant Taylor in a ninth-inning role. Regardless of the tier of arm they go for, the White Sox need to be aggressive in search of pitching help if they want any chance to make a playoff run this season. If Chris Getz is smart, he’ll try to get something done sooner rather than later.
Option 3: Stick it out and hope fortunes turn around
I’ll admit, I hate even bringing this up as a possibility. As a die hard fan, I’m going to overreact to everything and live and die by the results of 162 individual baseball games. Anytime someone has a bad game, I’m going to immediately think about how to replace them on the roster. Has Seranthony Dominguez been bad enough to warrant something drastic? Probably not. His overall numbers are stronger than several other White Sox bullpen arms. As the roster is constructed, he’s one of the most reliable options, and he makes sense as the closer given the multi-inning ability of Grant Taylor and Sean Newcomb and the non-traditional closer arsenal as Bryan Hudson. The White Sox could simply be patient with Dominguez and hope things start to turn around. It’s not the option any White Sox fans will want, but it’s an option nonetheless.
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