Jordan

Romano

The deal is now official. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters at the Winter Meetings that he wouldn’t completely rule out acquiring another reliever, but added that he’s comfortable with the club’s bullpen at this point. The 31-year-old stopper was non-tendered last month by the Blue Jays after missing four months last year due to elbow issues, but he’s expected to be ready for spring training. All signs point to Romano opening next season as Philadelphia’s primary closer, which makes him a borderline top 20 stopper from a fantasy perspective.

Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, it’s a one-year deal which is expected to come in higher than his projected arbitration number of $7.75 million. This is a crucial signing for the Phillies, who could lose Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez in free agency and saw their bullpen meltdown in the playoffs. The 31-year-old Romano became a free agent last month after the Blue Jays non-tendered him following a year where he struggled through elbow issues. Romano didn’t pitch in a game after the end of May and had arthroscopic surgery on July 3 for an elbow impingement; however, he was reportedly close to returning at the end of the season if the Blue Jays had been in contention. Romano has a career 2.90 ERA with 105 saves in 231 games across his six seasons and would be a tremendous addition for the Phillies if he’s healthy in 2025.

Romano was non-tendered by the Blue Jays a couple weeks ago in what Atkins described to reporters as purely a business decision. He added that it was a mutual decision for both sides to allow the veteran closer to explore his options on the open market and that they’re “heavily pursuing” a reunion. The fact that the 31-year-old stopper is expected to be fully healthy heading into spring training is notable since he missed the four months of last year due to persistent elbow issues. There’s a chance he’s closing somewhere, possibly back in Toronto, at the outset of the 2025 campaign, which would make him relevant in all fantasy formats.

There had been rumblings that this move was possible, but it’s still surprising to see the Jays actually do so. From 2021-2023 Romano was among the best closers in all of baseball, compiling 95 saves with a 2.37 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and a 230/70 K/BB ratio over 186 innings. He struggled through an injury-plagued 2024 season, posting a disappointing 6.59 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and a 13/4 K/BB ratio in only 13 2/3 innings. Romano had been projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $7.75 million via arbitration. His fantasy value for the 2025 season will ultimately be derived from where he eventually lands and whether or not he’ll get an opportunity to pitch in the ninth inning.

With the Blue Jays out of the postseason mix, any urgency for Romano to pull off a late September return has dissipated. Chad Green will likely finish out the year as Toronto’s closer. Romano, who saved 36 games in both 2022 and ’23, finishes this year with a 6.59 ERA and eight saves in 15 appearances.

It’s too little to late to save the Blue Jays, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see Romano get into a handful of games after undergoing arthroscopic surgery last month to address a right elbow impingement.

Romano will be shut down from throwing until at least mid-August after undergoing arthroscopic surgery earlier this month to repair a right elbow impingement. With Toronto in the midst of a full-scale teardown, there’s little incentive to rush him back for a handful of outings at the end of a lost season.

Jays’ manager John Schnieder told reporters that he’ll be shut down completely for the next six weeks before he’s able to resume throwing. That means there’s no certainty that he’ll be able to return before the end of the 2024 season. Fantasy managers in redraft leagues without IL spots can safely cut bait on the 31-year-old closer. Expect Chad Green to continue holding down the fort in the ninth inning for the time being.

Not good. Romano is heading for further evaluation with specialist Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday to determine his next steps. It’s the second time that Romano has been shut down during his rehabilitation process due to elbow discomfort. At this point, it’s possible the 31-year-old veteran closer could wind up requiring season-ending surgery. There should be an update on his status at some point in the coming days, but he’s nowhere close to returning at this point. It’ll continue to be Chad Green closing for Toronto until Yimi García (elbow) returns from the injured list.

It qualifies as a step in the right direction that Romano was able to resume throwing, albeit light catch, over the weekend, after being shut down last week due to renewed right elbow soreness. The 31-year-old veteran stopper is going to have to build up his throwing program basically from scratch again and is probably going to be out through the upcoming All-Star break.