Phillies’ Gamble on Jordan Romano Is Off to a Rocky Start

So, here’s the deal with Jordan Romano — the Phillies were hoping they’d snagged a sneaky-good bullpen piece in the offseason, but so far? It’s been rough. Romano came in with some baggage, sure — mainly an elbow issue that derailed his 2024 with Toronto and led to the Blue Jays letting him walk. But the Phillies, looking to patch up some bullpen holes left by departures like Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez, took a $8.5 million swing on him for 2025, hoping he’d bounce back strong.

Fast forward to now, and that bet isn’t paying off. Romano's stuff just doesn’t look the same. When he was right in Toronto, he had a legit fastball-slider combo. That heater would zip in at 96, 97 mph, and then boom — that slider would bite. It was a nasty combo. But so far this season, Romano’s fastball has sat more around 92-94 mph, and that dip is glaring in a league where everyone’s touching 98-plus. Velocity isn’t everything, but when it’s down and you’re not spotting pitches? That’s trouble.

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He’s been hit hard early — we’re talking slugging percentages against north of .600 on both his fastball and slider. That’s not a small bump in the road — that’s a flashing red warning light. He’s blown a couple leads already and even got booed off the mound after giving up three runs in a key spot against the Dodgers. Not exactly what you want from a guy you’re counting on in late-game situations.

Rob Thomson, the Phillies’ manager, has already hinted that Romano may be moved out of high-leverage roles for now — and honestly, that makes sense. You can’t keep running him out there in tight games while he’s still trying to “figure it out.” That’s just asking for heartbreak. Guys like Orion Kerkering and even Joe Ross are suddenly looking like safer options in the late innings, at least until Romano gets right.

Romano himself seems aware things aren’t clicking. After that rough outing against L.A., he admitted he’s confused about where his velocity went. Said he needs to get the velo back up, not just for his fastball’s sake, but to make the slider work again too. When your fastball’s down, hitters can sit on your breaking stuff — and they are.

The Phillies have won despite his struggles, but that’s not sustainable. In tight playoff-type games later in the year, you need reliable arms — not projects. If Romano can’t bounce back, the Phillies' bullpen could suddenly look a lot thinner than they expected.

Bottom line? It's early, but this Romano experiment is already raising some eyebrows — and not in a good way.

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