Sergio Romo has been one of the best relievers in baseball for six seasons now, posting a 2.27 ERA and 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings for his career, but he’s gotten knocked around this spring while allowing 12 runs in three innings.
That includes retiring zero of the five batters he faced in his last outing, but Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com notes that Romo has been pitching without using his slider--one of the most devastating offerings in all of baseball--and no one involved with the Giants seems especially worried about his struggles.
On the other hand Romo’s strikeout rate declined significantly last season and his velocity was down as well. He’s had enough arm problems over the years that saving his slider until games that actually matter could be a good idea, but in the meantime there’s at least a little reason for Giants fans to wonder if something else is up.
