José Domínguez (baseball)
José Alfredo Domínguez is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, and San Diego Padres.
He was called up to the majors for the first time on June 29, 2013. He is the cousin of Álex Colomé and his fastball has been clocked at over 100 mph.
Career
Los Angeles Dodgers
Domínguez was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers for $50,000 as a 16-year-old in 2007. He pitched for the Dodgers Dominican Summer League team from 2008 to 2010. In September 2009, he was suspended 50 games for violating the Minor League Drug Prevention program, when he tested positive for stanozolol, a performance-enhancing drug.In 2011, Domínguez moved to the U.S. based leagues and pitched for the Ogden Raptors and Arizona League Dodgers. In 2012, he began in Single–A with the Great Lakes Loons and was promoted to Double–A with the Chattanooga Lookouts.
Domínguez was suspended again, for violating the minor league drug policy in November 2012, receiving a 25-game suspension. After serving the suspension at the start of the 2013 season, he rejoined Chattanooga, where he
had a 2.60 ERA in 14 games with 28 strikeouts. He was quickly promoted to the Triple–A Albuquerque Isotopes. In 8 games in Triple–A, he had 12 strikeouts in 8 innings without allowing a run.
Domínguez's contract was purchased and he was called up to the Dodgers on June 29, 2013. He made his debut in relief on June 30 against the Philadelphia Phillies and retired the 3 batters he faced. He appeared in 9 games, with a 2.16 ERA before he was shut down with a quad strain. In 2014, he again spent most of the season with the Isotopes, where he was in 31 games and had a 3.24 ERA with 10 saves. In 5 games with the Dodgers, he allowed 8 runs in innings for an 11.37 ERA. He was not called up in September because he was dealing with an arm injury he suffered in the minor leagues.
Tampa Bay Rays
Domínguez was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays on November 20, 2014 in exchange for Joel Peralta and Adam Liberatore. He made 4 scoreless appearances for Tampa Bay, striking out 5 over innings. On August 16, 2015, Domínguez was designated for assignment to clear roster space for Drew Smyly. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A Durham Bulls. Domínguez made 30 appearances for Durham, struggling to an 0-2 record and 6.15 ERA with 25 strikeouts across innings pitched. He elected free agency following the season on November 6.San Diego Padres
On December 23, 2015, Domínguez signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres. On July 1, 2016, the Padres selected Domínguez's contract, adding him to their active roster. In 34 appearances for San Diego, he compiled a 5.05 ERA with 20 strikeouts across innings pitched. On October 26, Domínguez was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A El Paso Chihuahuas. However, he rejected the assignment and subsequently elected free agency.Toros de Tijuana
On November 4, 2016, Domínguez signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants. However, he did not appear for the organization in 2017 and was released on March 25, 2018.On May 5, 2018, Domínguez signed with the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. In 8 appearances for the Toros, he recorded an 0-1 record and 5.68 ERA with 5 strikeouts across innings pitched. Domínguez was released by Tijuana on July 3.