Phillies pitcher Jordan Romano (right) gets a congratulations from catcher J.T. Realmuto. (AP … More
It’s all good in Phillie Land — well, not exactly.
The first-place Phillies have kicked off the 2025 season with a 7-2 record and just snagged two out of three from the Masters of the Universe (the Los Angeles Dodgers) over the weekend. But one flaw — a fatal flaw in October — has already crept into the good-time vibes. It’s the bullpen, specifically one guy: Jordan Romano.
The Phils signed Romano this offseason to a one-year “prove-it” deal with the hope the former Blue Jays closer could seize the same role in Philadelphia. But so far, it’s been so shaky. Romano has allowed at least two runs in three of his five appearances to start the season, leading to a ghastly 15.75 ERA.
And during the seventh inning of Sunday’s outing against the Dodgers, Romano melted down and exited to a thunderclap of boos from the Philadelphia crowd. All three batters he faced reached base and eventually scored, turning a 6-4 lead into a 7-6 deficit. Luckily, the Philly offense saved the team — and Romano — with a scrappy 8-7 victory.
Props to Romano for being a stand-up dude after his atrocious performance:
For his new team, Romano has looked discombobulated on the mound with an erratic fastball that bounces between 91 to 96 mph while muttering to himself in between pitches.
When Romano is going good, his heater consistently hits 97 or 98 mph and he pairs it with a knee-buckling slider. It’s what made him a lights-out closer in Toronto from 2021-23. Elbow issues limited Romano to 13⅔ innings last year, but he insists he’s healthy and searching to stabilize his velocity.
“I don’t know what’s going on right now,” Romano said. “I got to get the velo up, and when the velo is right, it helps the slider.” He said he will “dive into” some video to diagnose a possible mechanical bug in his delivery.
After Sunday’s game, Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Romano’s inconsistent velocity is “a red flag” but noted his “long track of success, so, to a certain degree, we have to stay with him and have confidence in him.”
Coming into the season, the team’s bullpen was considered a potential weakness after losing Carlos Estevez (Royals) and Trevor Hoffman (Blue Jays) to free agency. Both Estevez (2 saves, o.00 ERA) and Hoffman (3 saves, 2.08 ERA) have been stellar with their new clubs.
The plan is/was to dump most of the high-leverage load on Romano, Matt Strahm, José Alvarado and Orion Kerkering. But if Romano’s fastball remains lost, the Phillies will have to find another right-hander who can fill an end-game role. That could be José Ruiz, who’s never been a regular go-to option in the late innings since arriving in Philly last year. But that could be changing after Thomson went to Ruiz to get a big out in the eighth inning of Friday’s 3-2 win over the Dodgers.
If Romano continues to falter, is there anybody in the minors who would get the call? Inconclusive at this point, though one player to note is Lehigh Valley reliever Devin Sweet, who’s been sharp in three outings and comes with big-league experience and a live arm.
More than likely, however, if Romano flames out, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will hunt down a flamethrower from another organization, much like he did last year when he acquired Estevez from the Angels at the trade deadline. Early names to track are Washington’s Kyle Finnegan, St. Louis’ Ryan Helsley and the Athletics’ Mason Miller. But that’s getting too far ahead because it’s early April. Romano still has time to find his fastball, and Thomson will give him the patience he needs.
