The Philadelphia Phillies should release relief pitcher Jordan Romano, who has not been good this season. An offseason signing, Romano was one of the Phillies’ closers at the start of the year. It is time for the Phillies to accept defeat here and move on. Romano’s signing with the Phillies never made much sense to start with.  Additionally, Romano had season-ending elbow surgery last year. Throughout the season, Romano has slowly been moved out of a high-leverage role. Romano has not returned to form after a rough 2024 season. This is multiple years in a row now that the Phillies have completely whiffed on one-year deals for a veteran player.

This season, Romano has a 2-4 record with a 7.56 ERA and eight saves in 48 outings. Romano has a 5.06 FIP along with a 1.42 WHIP and a 2.81 K/BB rate this year. Outside of May, when Romano had a 2.53 ERA, every month has seen him have a 5.00 ERA or worse. In April and August, Romano has had a 10.00 ERA or worse. Since the All-Star break, Romano has had a 3.24 HR/9 allowed rate and a 25.0% HR/FB allowed rate. Before the All-Star break, Romano had a 1.62 HR/9 allowed rate and a 14.6% HR/FB allowed rate. Romano has a 51.7% left-on-base rate, which is the worst among qualified relief pitchers this season, as well as his ERA.

Phillies Should Release Pitcher

Terrible Month on the Mound

Romano has been worse in August than in any other month. In August, Romano had a 16.20 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP across six appearances. Furthermore, Romano has a 5.40 HR/9 allowed rate and a 50.0% HR/FB allowed rate this month. Opposing batters have a .357/.400/.786 line and a .375 BABIP against Romano this month. To add, Romano has a 9.41 FIP in August. Romano can no longer be trusted in any role on a team that wants to win the World Series. The Phillies need to move on sooner rather than later.

Corresponding Roster Decision That Would Come with This Move

The Phillies have call-up options to choose from if they move on from Romano. Seth Johnson, Matt Manning, and Michael Mercado are on the 40-man roster and eligible to be called up at this moment. Daniel Robert, who had a good stretch earlier in the season, and Alan Rangel are not yet eligible to be called up in this scenario. If the move were to happen now, Johnson would be the most likely option. It is also possible the Phillies could call up someone else, but that would require a 40-man roster move since it is currently full.

Presence Of a Closer and Other Additions

The acquisition of closer Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins has helped the Phillies’ bullpen tremendously. Duran has not allowed an earned run with the Phillies and has six saves in seven appearances. In addition to that, Duran has a 1.35 FIP with a 5.00 K/BB rate and a 0.35 WHIP with the Phillies. The team also recently promoted David Robertson, whom the team signed in July. Robertson has a 1-0 record with a 1.93 ERA in five outings. To add, Robertson has a 4.19 FIP with a 3.50 K/BB rate and a 1.29 WHIP this season.

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