Former Blue Jays star closer Jordan Romano signs with NL team
The Jordan Romano era with the Toronto Blue Jays has officially come to an end.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the popular closer Romano has signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in free agency, pending a physical.
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
The 31-year-old relief pitcher from Markham, Ontario, was non-tendered by the Blue Jays, as first reported by Passan on November 22.
How long did Romano play for the Blue Jays?
Romano has spent his entire MLB career in Toronto, having been drafted by the franchise in the 10th round of the 2014 Draft out of Oral Roberts University.
He had an ERA of 2.90, 285 strikeouts, and 105 saves in 231 appearances for the Blue Jays in his career, making his MLB debut with the team in 2019. He had back-to-back seasons in 2022 and 2023 of 36 saves and won the Tip O’Neill Award as the best Canadian-born baseball player by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.
Romano made just 15 appearances for the Jays in 2024, picking up eight saves before eventually seeing his season cut short by an injury to his throwing elbow that required surgery.
Despite non-tendering him, Toronto general manager Ross Atkins suggested last week that the team could still undergo a reunion with the popular closer. However, that obviously did not come to fruition.
“I feel like he will be back physically. We have no medical concerns,” Atkins said.
Chad Green led the team in saves in 2024, picking up 17. As he remains under contract for the 2025 campaign, Green might end up as the Jays’ de facto closer come Opening Day if they do not find another free agency replacement.
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