The Philadelphia Phillies have finally made their first big move of the offseason as the MLB Winter Meetings got underway. The Phillies have added some much-needed bullpen help by agreeing to a one-year million contract with former Toronto Blue Jays reliever Jordan Romano, pending a physical as per Jeff Passan.
The first reported number had the contract at $7.75 million. MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports that the deal is worth $8.5 million.
With the Blue Jays, Romano had been among the league's top closers for the past few seasons. After all, the two-time All-Star has compiled a solid 20-17 record with 105 saves, a 2.90 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP, with 285 strikeouts in 229 2/3 innings pitched during his six-year MLB career. The key part was that whenever he has been on his game, he has been practically unhittable, for the most part.
Despite injuries and alarming 2024 numbers, Phillies' risky Jordan Romano signing is worth the gamble
However, the Phillies' signing of Romano doesn’t come without risks. The 31-year-old reliever has had his issues with injuries during the past couple of seasons. Back in 2023, Romano was plagued with a minor lower back issue midway through his All-Star campaign that ended up sidelining him for a couple of weeks.
But of more concern are the elbow issues that Romano encountered this past season. After starting the 2024 campaign on the injured list with right elbow soreness, he later landed on the IL in June with the very same issue. This time though, his season ultimately came to an abrupt end as he had to undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair an impingement in his right elbow.
In the midst of it all, Romano ended up making just 15 relief appearances for the Jays in 2024. In doing so, he put up the worst numbers of his career, posting a 1-2 record with eight saves, along with a dismal 6.59 ERA and 1.46 WHIP, giving up 10 earned runs on 16 hits with 13 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings of work.
All in all, it will come down to how much of that ineffectiveness during his outlier season could be attributed to his injury issues, as the Phillies certainly hope that was the main cause of his pitching problems. Nevertheless, Philadelphia appears to be willing to take the chance that Romano can bounce back and revert to his prior dominant form despite his extensive injury woes and layoff this past season.
Romano also has the tendency to get himself into a little trouble by allowing runners on base, but then ultimately getting out of it in the end for the most part. For the Phillies fans who crave the flare for the dramatic from time to time, they should be in for a real treat.
How well that eventually plays out in the National League will be worth keeping tabs on. But with Romano’s amazing track record against NL teams for his career, sporting a 2-0 mark with 24 saves, along with a stellar 1.29 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 59 strikeouts in just 49 innings over 50 appearances, let’s just say the Phillies and their faithful shouldn’t need to worry too much.
The Blue Jays had also indicated that they had no medical concerns after Romano spent the remainder of the 2024 season rehabbing at the team's Dunedin, Florida complex, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.
Toronto general manager Ross Atkins also confirmed that they had no medical concerns heading into 2025 after Romano spent the remainder of the 2024 season rehabbing and throwing at the team's complex in Dunedin, Florida, according to Blue Jays beat reporter Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.
Despite some unnerving risks that surround the Romano addition, the potential of a high reward certainly outweighs them, especially if he ends up helping the team to the elusive World Series championship. On just a value one-year deal for a potential star closer, it’s a chance that any contender would say is worth taking.