Phillies Offseason Signing Jordan Romano Finally Finding His Groove

Has Jordan Romano finally found his groove for the Philadelphia Phillies?

May 11, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jordan Romano (68) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies are playing some excellent baseball of late, and are surging up in the National League East standings on the heels of the New York Mets.

Even though there have been some ups and downs for the Phillies, the team is finding their groove and performing very well of late.

Philadelphia is expected to be one of the top teams in the league, but they have had some concerns early on this year.

Coming into the campaign, the team was hoping that offseason additions would have helped fix issues in their bullpen, lineup, and starting rotation.

So far, the results have been mixed, and some issues persist for the Phillies.

Which Area Has Been Most Significant Weakness?

Most notably of those issues has been the production of the bullpen. This is a unit that has caused a lot of anxiety in recent years and hasn’t been league average yet this campaign.

This winter, Philadelphia made a couple of notable decisions in the bullpen, letting two key performers leave in free agency. Both Carlos Estevez and Jeff Hoffman went to new teams and they replaced that production by signing Jordan Romano.

The former two-time All-Star was non-tendered by the Toronto Blue Jays, making him available for the Phillies to sign this winter.

In 2024, it was a down year, and one that the right-hander was plagued with some injuries as well.

Last campaign, he totaled a 6.59 ERA in 15 games. However, after coming off making the All-Star team in years prior, Philadelphia likely thought he would be a prime candidate to bounce back.

So far, the overall stats for Romano haven’t been great, but there is reason to believe he’s turning the corner.

Overall, the former All-Star has totaled a 7.71 ERA this year, making him quite the disappointment. However, things have been much better in May.

This month, he hasn’t allowed a run in six innings of work, totaling two saves and two holds. Even though he hasn’t completely won back his job as the closer, things are trending in a much better direction.

If Romano can regain his All-Star form, it would be a massive boost for the Philadelphia bullpen. Overall, the unit has seen some good performances from Matt Strahm and Jose Alvarado, while Romano has struggled.

Even though adding another high leverage arm might be a need for Philadelphia, not having to add a closer at the deadline would be ideal. Hopefully, the month of May is an indication that Romano is back.