The Philadelphia Phillies made their first notable move of free agency by signing former Toronto Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano to a one-year, $8.5 million contract. The Phillies have used a closer-by-committee approach over the last few years and although Romano is capable of being a full-time closer, the team might stick to their roots in 2025.
Grade the deal: Phillies' high-upside play for Jordan Romano has big potential
The Phillies came into the offseason with needs in the bullpen, starting rotation and the outfield. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and company checked one of those boxes off with the addition of Romano in the bullpen.
Romano debuted with the Blue Jays in 2019, but the right-hander didn’t get his first real shot in the majors until 2021. He posted a 2.14 ERA with 23 saves on 24 opportunities. He recorded 85 strikeouts in 63 innings pitched and held opposing hitters to a .181 batting average.
Romano followed up his impressive 2021 season with back-to-back All-Star appearances in 2022 and 2023. He owned a 2.11 ERA with a 1.02 WHIP, 73 strikeouts and 36 saves in 64 innings pitched in 2022. He had a 2.90 ERA with 36 saves and 72 strikeouts in 59 innings pitched in 2023.
Unfortunately, Romano missed most of the 2024 season with an elbow injury that eventually resulted in season-ending surgery. He had eight saves on nine opportunities with 13 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings pitched.
Romano throws a four-seam fastball, slider and sinker, but the 31-year-old relies heavily on his fastball and slider. He’s a hard-throwing reliever with swing-and-miss potential. He has 105 saves since 2019, the ninth most in baseball in that span.
Signing Romano was a gamble because of his injury-plagued 2024 season, but it was a high-upside deal with big potential heading into 2025. The Phillies may look to add another arm to the bullpen with Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez being free agents, but the team got a big boost with Romano in the picture.
The Phillies are World Series contenders. Any team in their position would take the risk on a player like Romano and the one-year deal they gave him if it means it will help them win a championship. It remains to be seen how impactful he’ll be in the City of Brotherly Love, but if he can stay healthy in 2025, Romano could be one of the missing pieces to their World Series aspirations.
Grade: B