The moves came swiftly, one after the other, with a few days to spare before the trade deadline. When the Orioles acted, they acquired help for their bullpen and starting rotation in quick succession.

First came Seranthony Domínguez from the Philadelphia Phillies. Next came Zach Eflin from the Tampa Bay Rays.

The right-handers bolster a rotation that has been buffeted by three season-ending injuries and a bullpen that has wavered at times this season. It came as a clear signal to the clubhouse that Baltimore’s brass is aiming for postseason success.

“It’s exciting seeing moves being made, certainly ones [general manager] Mike [Elias] and the decision-makers of the organization think are going to help better our ballclub,” infielder Jordan Westburg said. “A couple pieces would be great, and we’ll welcome whoever comes with open arms.”

They’ll welcome Eflin and Domínguez, and this is what the Orioles can expect of them.

Zach Eflin is a premier strike-thrower

Eflin, 30, stands in elite company when it comes to avoiding walks. He’s a pitch-to-contact specialist, and he does it better than almost anyone. Entering Friday, Eflin’s 2.8% walk rate was second in the majors behind Mariners right-hander George Kirby.

To put that another way: In 110 innings, Eflin has walked 13 batters.

Eflin has a robust pitch mix but has mainly relied on his sinker, cutter and curveball in big situations. He also adds a four-seam fastball, a sweeper and a changeup on occasion. The pure metrics on those offerings don’t jump off the page — Eflin’s average velocity on his heater is 92.6 mph — but he makes up for that with deception.

At 32.8%, Eflin is tied with left-hander Garrett Crochet for ninth in out-of-zone swing rate. Eflin has thrown 46% of his pitches on the edge of the strike zone, according to Statcast. The league average is 39%.

His sinker has 28.2 inches of drop, per Statcast, which is 4.2 inches more than league average. And he uses that pitch 32% of the time, peppering the lower part of the zone to induce ground balls.

Since Eflin became a primary sinker-ball pitcher in 2020, his career has reached a new level. He finished sixth in Cy Young Award voting last year, his first with the Rays, after posting a 3.50 ERA and 1.024 WHIP.

His numbers are slightly elevated this year to a 4.09 ERA and 1.164 WHIP. His strikeout figures are also lower than last season. But he doesn’t need to be a strikeout pitcher to get results; he averages just over one home run against him per nine innings, and the control of the strike zone has elevated him as one of the most consistent pitchers in recent seasons.

There were other pitchers on the market, such as Crochet and left-hander Tarik Skubal. The prospect cost for either would’ve been massive. In the Eflin trade, Baltimore avoided parting ways with any of its high-ranking prospects and received a pitcher who has strong metrics — and one who might factor heavily into the Orioles’ chances in the postseason.

Seranthony Domínguez is a high-velo reliever

Right away, when Domínguez takes the mound, he’ll have the most velocity of any of Baltimore’s relievers. His fastball averages 97.6 mph, which is in the top 5% of baseball, and the next closest in the Orioles’ bullpen is left-hander Cionel Pérez at 96.3 mph.

Domínguez can control it, too, better than some high-velocity relievers. His walk rate of 7.6% is around league average, and his 25.5% strikeout rate is well above average. Among active Orioles relievers, that strikeout rate is now the third best in the bunch.

Domínguez manages all this mainly on his four-seam fastball and slider combination, although he can mix in a sinker. His four-seamer and slider are in the top 25 of Stuff+ among qualified relievers, according to FanGraphs. The metric grades the velocity, movement and spin of pitches.

His 4.75 ERA is deceiving. In 26 appearances since May, Domínguez holds a 2.81 ERA with a .175 batting average and .579 OPS against him.

Those numbers are an immediate boost for the bullpen, which for the time being is without left-hander Danny Coulombe. And, in July, the bullpen’s ERA as a whole has ballooned to 4.57. The Orioles needed a boost, and Domínguez could be the fireballer required.