Baumann, Dominguez cementing future roles

SAN DIEGO — Buddy Baumann and Jose Dominguez have been pitching professionally for the better part of the past decade. But until a month ago, neither had been given a consistent opportunity at the Major League level.

Thus far, the rookie relievers have made the most of the chance they’ve been given. And in doing so, they could be cementing themselves a spot in the Padres’ 2017 bullpen.

“They’ve put themselves in the mix to be a part of this thing for a long time,” said Padres manager Andy Green. “They’re young, they’re controllable, they have every opportunity to be a part of our bullpen moving forward. There’s still two months left to really get a feel of who they are.”

Baumann entered Spring Training with a chance to crack the big league club, but was sidelined for much of the first half with a lower back injury. He proved his worth with a gaudy 1.33 ERA for Triple-A El Paso — which plays in a notoriously hitter-friendly park.

The 28-year-old southpaw hasn’t seen much of a drop-off in his first big league stint. He’s allowed a run on three hits over 5 1/3 innings, while striking out seven.

“I lose myself in the competition,” Baumann said. “After the first couple outings, I realized that my stuff plays the same here. That gives me a little more confidence, …

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