Philadelphia Phillies reliever Jordan Romano should have to earn the closer role during spring training despite his pedigree. Romano signed a one-year deal with the Phillies this offseason. This came after the Toronto Blue Jays decided to non-tender him. This in part led to the Phillies not re-signing Jeff Hoffman or Carlos Estévez. Hoffman would sign with the Blue Jays, while Estévez signed with the Kansas City Royals. This has left an opening for a spring training competition to determine who closes for the Phillies this season. Romano is the frontrunner given the other options. FanGraphs ZiPS DC projects he will record 23 saves in 2025 as a closer. An All-Star in 2022 and 2023, Romano missed most of the 2024 season due to injuries.
1/30/25 : Some pitches from Jordan Romano bullpen today at the complex pic.twitter.com/ObLgb3zCiz
— PhilliesBaseballFan.com (@s_m_potter) January 30, 2025
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Jordan Romano Should Have To Earn Phillies Closer Spot
Need To Show Return To Previous Levels Of Performance
Romano was limited by injuries to 15 outings in 2024. He had a 1-2 record with a 6.59 ERA and eight saves, along with a 63 ERA+ and a 6.17 FIP. The lone season where Romano had a worse ERA, WHIP, ERA+, and FIP than 2024 was his rookie season in 2019. He had a career-worst 21.0% strikeout rate and a career-best 6.5% walk rate last season, leading to a 1.463 WHIP. Furthermore, Romano had a career-worst 6.5% home runs allowed rate in 2024. With a career-low 13 2/3 innings pitched in 2024, he will need to show in spring training that he is healthy and that 2024 was a fluke.
From 2021 through 2023, Romano was one of the most dominant closers in baseball, with a 17-12 record with a 2.37 ERA and 95 saves in that stretch. Additionally, he recorded a 178 ERA+ and a 3.13 FIP across those three seasons. Romano had the fourth most saves and the seventh-best ERA among qualified relief pitchers from 2021 to 2023. In 2022, his most dominant season in that stretch, he recorded a 5-4 record with a 2.11 ERA and 36 saves in 63 outings. Romano led AL pitchers with a 3.8 win probability added in 2021. Something close to this version of Romano is what the Phillies need to shore up concerns about the bullpen.
Competition For The Job
For most of his tenure as Phillies manager, Rob Thomson has used a closer-by-committee system. It would not be a total surprise to see that continue in 2025. However similar to when the Phillies had Craig Kimbrel in 2023, Romano is more of a true closer than others on the roster. Kimbrel made the All-Star team and recorded 23 saves that season. In 2024, the Phillies had eight different pitchers record a save. For comparison, nine different Phillies recorded saves in 2023. Thomson needs to move toward having a set closer. In both 2023 and 2024, the Phillies had multiple players record at least 10 saves. They have not had a pitcher record a 30-save season since 2016.
Last season saw a closer competition during spring training as well. José Alvarado started the 2024 season receiving most of the save opportunities. He had 10 saves in 2023 and a team-leading 13 saves in 2024. However, his struggles combined with Estévez joining the team led to changed bullpen roles. Matt Strahm recorded three saves last season while also blowing six saves. Orion Kerkering went 0-for-2 on save attempts last season. Of the options the Phillies have, Jordan Romano has the most closing experience, but he should not automatically be handed the role. In spring training, the 31-year-old needs to show he can be a reliable closer this year. It is always possible someone else steps up rises to the occasion and takes the role for themselves.
The post Jordan Romano Needs to Earn the Phillies’ Closer Role appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.