Is Newly Acquired Phillies Reliever Finally Rounding Into Form After Brutal Start?

The Philadelphia Phillies didn’t make too many moves this past offseason, opting to run things back with a nearly identical core to the one that won 95 regular season games in 2024 and took home the National League East title.

But, one area of the team that was going to be different in 2025 was the bullpen, which no longer had the services of Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez.

Both departed in free agency to take full-time closer gigs with the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals, respectively.

The job for Hoffman was opened up partly because the Blue Jays decided to non-tender former All-Star closer Jordan Romano earlier in the offseason. He was readily available on the market in part because the Phillies were who signed Romano to a one-year deal.

It was a move that many people liked.

Romano struggled through injuries in 2024 and ineffectiveness on the mound with a 6.59 ERA in 15 appearances. This was not the same person who put themselves into the mix as one of the best late-game relievers in baseball from 2021 through 2023, making the All-Star team in two straight years.

Alas, that 6.59 ERA Philadelphia would have taken from him, as he struggled mightily out of the gate.

Romano’s ERA got as high as 15.26 following a disastrous six-run outing when he recorded only two outs.

Lacking other options to turn to, manager Rob Thomson had to keep trotting the veteran out there hoping he would find something and his production would turn.

Since that abysmal outing, Romano has begun to figure things out, looking more like the All-Star version of himself.

What Pitch Has Jordan Romano Back on Track With Phillies?

“When I’m going good,” Romano said this week, via Matt Gelb of The Athletic (subscription required), “I feel like I can get that pitch.”

The pitch he is referring to is a slider that he takes some velocity off of to drop into the zone for a strike to get ahead of hitters early in the count. Normally, it is when he faces off against a lefty, so he can drop in a backdoor strike.

Over the last few weeks, he has been incorporating that pitch into his game plan more and the results have been fantastic.

Since the implosion on April 19, Romano has made eight appearances. Seven of them have been scoreless affairs.

His confidence is on the rise with the feel for his slider returning.

“Just kind of feeling more like myself out there,” Romano said. “Not pressing as much. Just kind of being me.”

In his two most recent outings, May 11 and May 14 against the Cleveland Guardians and St. Louis Cardinals, he recorded his third and fourth saves of the season with multiple strikeouts each time.

Through his first 15 appearances of the campaign he had only two such outings with multipe strikeouts. Blowing away opposing hitters was a bit part of his success earlier in his career and he is beginning to find that groove again.

This version of Romano is exactly what the Phillies need as the right-handed complement to left-handed closer Jose Alvarado.

Now if only Philadelphia could figure out how to get Aaron Nola back on track in a similar fashion coming off the worst start of his career.