Apr 6, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jordan Romano (68) hands the ball to manager Rob Thomson (59) after being removed from the game during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline
There was logic in the Phillies' signing of Jordan Romano this past December. He was non-tendered by the Toronto Blue Jays after an injury-riddled 2024, but had 95 prior saves the three prior campaigns. If the Phillies got that version of Romano, $8.5 million for one year would be a steal.
Of course, there was risk in the signing of Romano. He was coming off of a season where right elbow inflammation limited him to just 15 games. Romano could sign and then get hurt again. Or he could come back and just not be the same guy he was from 2021-2023.
Thus far, the returns on Romano have been alarming, even if it hasn't prevented the Phillies from winning seven of their first nine games. He struggled on Opening Day in Washington, but the Phillies still won the game. He once again flirted with disaster Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, only for a strike-'em-out-throw-'em-out between him and J.T. Realmuto to ultimately preserve a 3-2 win. The latest reason to be concerned came Sunday, as the Phillies had to overcome a disastrous appearance from Romano to earn an 8-7 series-clinching win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Romano entered Sunday's game in the top of the seventh inning with a 7-5 lead. He exited three batters later after Mookie Betts crushed an RBI double into the left-center field gap off of him, putting the eventual go-ahead runs into scoring position:
Moooook! pic.twitter.com/6r4rpDAONE
Romano didn't record a single out, and his fastball sat between 92.8 and 94.1 mph. For reference, his average career fastball velocity is 96.8 mph.
So what isn't working for the veteran righty currently?
"Just the velocity," Rob Thomson said of why he got Orion Kerkering up so quickly in the seventh. "It's something we've gotta check into, because everything out of the training room ... there's no red flags, [he] feels fine. So I don't know whether it's kind of a dead arm issue or what. But it concerns me a little bit that the velocity is down."
Romano had a similar message.
"When I rear back and wanna get one, it's [usually] 96, 98 [mph]. Today, it just wasn't there," Romano said at his locker. "I feel fine physically, I just ... yeah, I'm not sure. I'm trying to throw a good heater and it's just not, it wasn't there today."
If there's anyone more frustrated by the performance of Romano than Phillies fans, it's the righty himself. He said he's going to dive into video to figure out what could potentially be ailing him right now. Could it be, as Thomson suggested, that he's just going through a bit of a dead arm period?
"Yeah, I'm not too sure, you know what I mean? But yeah, that's one thing I just got to figure out," Romano said. "I gotta get the velo up because when the velo is right, it helps the slider too. I feel like when the velo is down, it's easier to take the slider."
Rob Thomson on Jordan Romano
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/QCfYv5cGqw
While the first batter Romano faced was Andy Pages — the No. 9 hitter — the next two batters who came to the plate were Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. Why not just have Kerkering, who ultimately had to come in and try to clean up Romano's mess, start the inning?
"I was saving Kerkering for the end of the game — or towards the end," Thomson said postgame. "It was either going to be Alvarado or Kerk eighth and ninth depending on the pocket. You were probably going to come through there [that part of the lineup] again."
Perhaps just going to Kerkering to start the seventh would have been the right move. At the same time, it feels early on like Thomson is short on high-leverage options. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski took a risk this offseason in letting both Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez walk in free agency. The Phillies didn't ultimately want to commit multiple years to either one.
Hoffman had deals with both the Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles fall through after concerns over his physical, but did still land a three-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays that guarantees him $33 million. Hoffman already has three saves and five games finished this season.
Estévez hasn't given up any runs in three games for the Kansas City Royals, who signed him to a two-year/$22 million deal.
Maybe neither of those deals will age well. There was definitely logic in shaking the bullpen up after it melted down in the NLCS last year. But there's also a reason why Hoffman and Estévez got multi-year deals and Romano only got one season after being non-tendered. Sometimes you take a risk on a bounce-back candidate and end up looking like a genius. Other times, the bounce-back candidate doesn't, well, bounce back. It's early, but the latter scenario seems more likely to be the case with Romano right now.
I asked Bryce Harper if there’s anything you can say to a teammate like Jordan Romano when they get off to a slow start. @OnPattison pic.twitter.com/2WKmT1JOJf
As it turned out, the Phillies scored two runs off of Blake Treinen in the bottom of the seventh inning, with Bryson Stott and Edmundo Sosa driving in runs. Matt Strahm and José Alvarado combined to close out the victory in the eighth and ninth innings. Crisis was avoided, and the Phillies managed to take two of three from the defending World Series Champions.
But the high-leverage guys in the bullpen have been taxed early in the season. Someone other than Alvarado, Strahm and Kerkering needs to be able to take down high-leverage innings. The Phillies gambled on Romano being able to do that, and so far that looks like a mistake. The Phillies, though, have no choice but to try to figure out what's plaguing Romano right now and try to adjust it. They need him to be better.
Dombrowski, aware of this reality, had a simple message for Romano as he walked by his locker postgame.
"Hang in there."
