Phillies place Seranthony Domínguez on 15-day injury list, move Corey Knebel to 60-day IL

In the midst of a season in which their bullpen has exceeded expectations, the Phillies received two big blows on Sunday morning.

Corey Knebel was moved to the 60-day injured list and fellow right-handed reliever Seranthony Domínguez, who was unavailable to pitch in Saturday’s doubleheader after experiencing tightness in his pitching arm, was placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to Aug. 18) with triceps tendinitis. Knebel, who has a tear in his right shoulder capsule as well as a latissimus muscle strain, is likely done for the season.

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper says thumb is at ‘85-90 percent’ strength ahead of impending rehab assignment

Domínguez said on Saturday that he began to feel tightness in his triceps after playing catch on Saturday morning. He got an X-ray on Saturday night to check for bone chips, which came back clean, and he was scheduled for an MRI on Sunday to see if there’s any structural damage.

Interim manager Rob Thomson said he is hopeful that Domínguez will be back by the time his 15-day IL stint is up. Meanwhile, Knebel will travel to Texas on Sunday night to get stem cell treatment in an attempt to avoid surgery.

As a corresponding move, the Phillies selected the contract of 29-year-old right-hander Tyler Cyr from triple-A Lehigh Valley. Cyr has pitched well this season — he has a 2.50 ERA over 36 innings — and has seen his velocity tick up to the mid-90s. Cyr relies primarily on his fastball, cutter, and splitter.

Both the Phillies and Domínguez are acting out of an abundance of caution. Domínguez had Tommy John surgery in July of 2020 and missed parts of two seasons recovering from it. This has been his first full big league season since 2019. Initially, the Phillies weren’t sure what they’d get from Domínguez, given his injury history, but he quickly earned the trust of both former manager Joe Girardi and Thomson. He has a 1.64 ERA through 44 innings, and has seen his velocity increase significantly.

Domínguez has been someone Thomson has turned to in high-leverage situations. Thomson hasn’t named a closer — he likes to mix and match his relievers based on matchups — and said on Sunday that he’ll continue to do so. He listed Connor Brogdon, José Alvarado, Brad Hand, David Robertson, and Andrew Bellatti as possibilities to close out games.

The losses of Knebel and Domínguez make the acquisition of Robertson at the trade deadline all the more important. Robertson, who is back with the Phillies after a short, injury-marred stint in 2019, has a 1.86 ERA through 48⅓ innings.

When asked whether it’s possible that pitching prospect Griff McGarry could be called up, Thomson said he wouldn’t rule it out, but said that McGarry’s name hasn’t been brought up yet.

Knebel was signed in December with the idea that he could pitch late in games. He struggled to command his pitches — and lost feel for his curveball — which prompted the Phillies to bump him down to lower-leverage spots. He’d been pitching well of late, though. Aside from one disastrous outing on Aug. 2, when he gave up five earned runs, Knebel hadn’t given up an earned run since June 19.

Kyle Schwarber, who has been DHing as he continues to nurse a mild calf strain, will DH again on Monday. Schwarber ran the bases in Saturday’s doubleheader and told Thomson he felt fine. The team would like him to do some agility work and change-of-direction drills before he returns to left field.