Jordan Romano’s introduction to Philadelphia Phillies fans was far from perfect. After consecutive All-Star selections as the Toronto Blue Jays’ closer in 2022 and 2023, Romano signed a one-year, $8.5 million contract with the Phillies after missing most of the 2024 season with a right elbow injury.
The Phillies let high-leverage relievers Carlos Estévez and 2024 All-Star Jeff Hoffman walk in free agency. Ironically, Hoffman signed a three-year deal with the Blue Jays.
Romano was tasked with filling the void and replacing Hoffman in the Phillies’ bullpen. The right-hander had a nightmare start in the City of Brotherly Love. He allowed seven earned runs in his first five appearances, and after three scoreless innings pitched, Romano allowed six hits and six runs in 2/3 innings on April 19, lifting his ERA to 15.26.
Jordan Romano is making everyone forget about the struggling Jeff Hoffman
Phillies fans wanted Romano to take a one-way ticket out of town after a disastrous start to the 2025 season. The veteran has finally started to look like his former All-Star self and gain trust in the back end of the Phillies’ bullpen.
After the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, Romano has thrown six consecutive scoreless innings. The 32-year-old struck out all three batters he faced to pick up his fourth save of the season and lower his ERA to 8.22.
"It was a terrible start [to the season]," Romano told Tom McCarthy and John Kruk during the on-air postgame interview. "But I just never give up, keep grinding every day, keep practicing, and good things will happen. So that's what I'm doing right now, just keep grinding, keep practicing and hopefully the cards start going my way."
Easy as 1️⃣,2️⃣,3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/qstuDUovCU
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 14, 2025
Not only has Romano not allowed a run since April 23, but he has also been efficient in his appearances. He has allowed just three hits in his last six innings of work, with no walks and eight strikeouts. He’s thrown 76 pitches, including 53 strikes, and hasn’t thrown more than 15 pitches in an appearance.
On the other hand, Hoffman’s early-season dominance with the Blue Jays has come to a screeching halt. Entering May 6, Hoffman owned a 1.10 ERA across 16 1/3 innings. Entering Wednesday, the former Phillie owns a 6.05 ERA.
Hoffman had nightmarish appearances against the Los Angeles Angels in back-to-back days on May 6 and 7. The struggling veteran allowed six hits, one walk and six earned runs, including a blown save, in 2/3 innings across the two games.
After consecutive hitless and scoreless appearances against the Seattle Mariners, Hoffman allowed four hits, one walk and five earned runs in 1/3 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, including a grand slam. It marked his second blown save in the last week.
Junior Slaminero 🥶 pic.twitter.com/LwLLbJWhkc
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 14, 2025
Hoffman has had a week to forget, while Romano has continued his recent dominance with the Phillies. Letting Hoffman walk in favor of Romano isn’t looking quite as bad as it did a few weeks ago.