Jordan Romano has had a season far from the one he and the Philadelphia Phillies envisioned. The organization signed him to a one-year deal in the offseason following an injury-plagued season with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2024 that saw him active for only 15 games.
The former two-time All-Star has a 7.56 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 41 2/3 innings this year. He has allowed a career-high nine home runs and 36 runs (35 earned).
The Phillies will have a tough decision to make if Romano is still struggling at the end of the regular season and the bullpen is healthy. Even with José Alvarado unavailable for the playoffs due to his PED suspension, should they put Romano on the postseason roster? Probably not, but there is a good chance they will if he remains with the club.
Jordan Romano is creating a serious postseason bullpen problem for Phillies
The 32-year-old most recently was charged with two more earned runs versus the Seattle Mariners when he gave up a three-run home run in just one third of an inning last Monday.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson recently defended Romano and explained why he continues to give the reliever, who hasn't been used in high-leverage situations for quite some time, opportunities.
"He either shuts people down, or he gives up two or three runs," Thomson told the media. "He gave up a lot early in the season, and a lot of tough luck too, really. You look at last night, he gives up a jam-shot base hit, and then the guy fights him and fights him and fights him and he leaves a slider in his wheelhouse and he hits it over the fence. It just seems like it's been one of those years."
"But it's still good stuff," Thomson continued. "He gets swing and miss when he's on. And he's actually done a pretty good job at killing innings, coming in with traffic and getting out of it. So, I like him."
Rob Thomson explained to @MattGelb why the Phillies continue to give Jordan Romano chances. pic.twitter.com/AmhuG5mYYs
— On Pattison (@OnPattison) August 19, 2025
Romano got off to a bad start for the Phillies this year. He surrendered two or more earned runs in four of his first nine appearances. The reliever allowed a whopping six runs in two thirds of an inning on April 19 versus the Miami Marlins.
He looked to have turned a corner in May as he finished with a 2.53 ERA for the month, lowering his season ERA from 12.19 to 7.29 at the start of June. However, he continues to be plagued by one to two bad games a month. He recently allowed four runs in two thirds of an inning against the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 13.
Thomson will continue to use Romano but likely ahead of the late innings. The bottom line is that he needs to seize his opportunities and attempt to build some positive momentum before the start of the postseason.
It appears unlikely they would promote two relief pitchers from the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs to the playoff roster with a healthy bullpen. They will call up one pitcher in place of Alvarado. The primary options are relievers who have appeared with the Phillies previously this year: Seth Johnson, Max Lazar, Alan Rangel, Daniel Robert, and Michael Mercado.
Romano has pitched erratically enough to raise concerns about whether the organization should explore options in place of him on the playoff roster. It may be worth the Phillies taking a chance and recalling another pitcher from the IronPigs for the playoffs.