Phillies

Phillies Sign Jordan Romano to One-Year Deal

By Luke Arcaini

Published: Dec 9th, 2024 · 2:08 PM EST

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The Phillies signed Jordan Romano to a 1-year contract, per multiple reports:

Closer Jordan Romano and the Philadelphia Phillies are in agreement on a free agent contract, pending physical, sources tell ESPN. Romano, 31, was nontendered by Toronto earlier this offseason and joins a Phillies bullpen that lost Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez to free agency.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 9, 2024

Romano, 31, is coming off the worst season of his career. He made just 15 appearances in 2024, then was sent to the IL in the beginning of July and would later have an arthroscopic procedure on his right elbow. Romano attempted to make a return at the end of the season, but Toronto shut him down.

The Phillies are hoping they signed the 2020-2023 version of Romano. When healthy, he’s been unbelievable. Romano has logged 105 saves since 2020, and 95 from 2021-2023:

• 2020: 1.23 ERA in 15 games
• 2021: 2.14 ERA in 62 games
• 2022: 2.11 ERA in 63 games
• 2023: 2.90 ERA in 59 games

I fully trust Caleb Cotham to get Romano back to his old self coming off surgery. We’ve seen the levels that Cotham has taken Jeff Hoffman, Matt Strahm, Jose Ruiz, and more.

This can’t be the only bullpen move for the Phillies. Dave Dombrowski said a few weeks back that there’s a chance they’d only replace Hoffman/Estevez with one guy, but Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported that the Phillies are still interested in a Hoffman reunion. We don’t know the price of Romano’s contract just yet. Ken Rosenthal reported that it’s above Romano’s projected arbitration number of $7.75M, but Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting $7.75M.

I like this move a lot. Romano is in the top tier of backend relievers when he’s healthy. Get the arm back to where it was and this has the potential to be one of the best contracts in the league.