Jordan Romano Is A Low-Risk, High-Reward Move For Phillies
The Dodgers and Mets have already made their big splashes this off-season with more moves potentially to come. Leaving the Phillies needing to play catch up. Their first notable free agent signing came just the other day. They brought in closer Jordan Romano on a 1-year deal worth $8.5 million.
It is not Juan Soto, and it is not Blake Snell. The Romano signing did not dominate the headlines like the Mets and Dodgers’ moves. But that does not mean it is not a good move. What the Phillies got in Romano is a potentially dominant closer, with minimal risk.
Jordan Romano Is A Potential All-Star Closer
Romano was the Blue Jays closer for years, and he was great for them. From 2021 to 2023 he saved 95 games with an ERA of 2.73. Opponents batted under .200 against him. He was consistently, across 3 seasons, one of the best closers in the game.
But last year was a disaster. Romano was banged up going into camp, never got healthy, and was shut down by the end of May. Hence why he was available at such a small cost.
He pitched in only 15 games and had an ERA over 6.0. But much of that damage came in two bad games. When you pitch only 13.2 innings, a couple of bad outings can ruin your stats. He gave up 5 runs across .2 innings in those 2 bad games. Otherwise, his ERA was 3.46. Not great, but not bad either considering the injuries.
Coming off a year where he didn’t pitch is obviously a small risk. Especially since we have not seen him pitch since the injury. But they are not paying him like the star closer he used to be. It is a small 1-year deal. If he struggles, you can just move on.
Corey Seidman from NBC Sports Philly joined The Best Show Ever this week and shared a similar sentiment about the move.
“Well, from 2021 to 2023, he was one of the best closers in the American League. This past season he didn’t pitch much because of an elbow injury that stifled him from from spring training onward. He had arthroscopic surgery in July, didn’t pitch after May 29th, and that’s the only reason he was available.
I think that the Phillies looked at this as a low-risk, decent-sized reward alternative to paying closer like 40 or $50 million because Carlos Estevez and Jeff Hoffman might be looking at like three years times $12 million. You’re talking about guys who might end up making 4 or 5 times as much in total value as Romano does on this contract.
So if he stays healthy, if he performs, it could be a steal. That’s a huge if, though the Phillies do seem to feel that if this is their only high-profile bullpen addition, they feel confident with that group of four being Jordan Romano and Orion Kerkering going from the right side with Matt Strahm and Jose Alvarado from the left side.“
You can check out the full interview with Corey Seidman below. He also talked about the Alec Bohm trade rumors, and what other moves they might make, including their interest in star international free agent Roki Sasaki.
Phillies Still Have Work To Do
Signing Romano addresses one problem, but there is still a lot of work to do. Even without the Dodgers and Mets both making big moves, the Phillies needed to make some moves. With the way the last 2-seasons ended, it is clear running it back is not an option.
The two teams in the NL that made it further than you, including the team that won it all, were clearly not content to run it back. So why should the Phillies be content to do so?
But this is a good first step. And it is a move that won’t prevent further moves. If they dumped a ton of money on a potential closer, it could prevent them from making a move elsewhere. But they did not have to do that with Jordan Romano. They got that potential shutdown closer, without having to pay him like one.
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