Prior to Sunday’s game against the Washington Nationals, the Phillies activated reliever Seranthony Domínguez from the 15-day injured list. To make room on the roster, Vinny Nittoli was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
The Phillies will carefully monitor Domínguez’s workload, but he’ll go straight back to occupying a role in the back end of the bullpen. Rob Thomson likes to play matchups rather than assign roles by inning and that will continue. The only difference is that the Phillies will have their best arm available more times than not.
The team’s best hitter, starter and reliever all missed significant time this season, but you can argue that Domínguez’s extended absence has hurt the Phillies the most.