Seranthony Dominguez did not look as sharp as usual in his rehab outing with Lehigh Valley earlier this week, but considering that he has not pitched since August 17th so some rust is not unexpected. Plus, with Corey Knebel out for the rest of the season and David Robertson struggling in the closer’s role, the Phillies need the late inning help in the bullpen.

Dominguez went out with right biceps tendinitis, dealing a blow to the Phillies at the back end of their bullpen. In his one outing with Lehigh Valley, Dominguez threw a shutout inning but walked two batters in the process.

The 27-year-old right-hander was 6-4 with a 1.64 ERA in 46 outings with the Phillies this season. While Dominguez will be used in late inning situations, Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson pointed out that he will try to stay away from using Dominguez on back-to-back days and will also keep an eye on his pitch count.

To make room for Dominguez, the Phillies optioned pitcher Vinny Nittoli to Lehigh Valley. Nittoli came to Philadelphia from the Blue Jays organization in exchange for catcher Karl Ellison on August 31. Nittoli pitched in two games with the Phillies and hit a batter and issued a walk and also picked up a strikeout over two innings of work.