The Philadelphia Phillies released reliever Joe Ross on Tuesday due to poor performances. Ross recorded a 5.12 ERA through 51 innings this season and was just recently absolved of his duties.
Now, Jordan Romano should be next.
If the organization is cutting ties with Ross for his awful pitching, Romano needs to be a no-brainer decision with an atrocious 8.23 ERA in 42 2/3 innings.
“The club’s biggest offseason bullpen addition, Romano was supposed to be a steady late-inning presence,” Matt Gelb wrote for The Athletic. “Instead, he has authored one of the worst seasons by a reliever in Phillies history.”
The Phillies holding onto Romano for this long is shocking seeing as they’re in a race for the National League East title with the New York Mets. They should be wanting to have the best bullpen possible going into the final month of the regular season instead of having it bogged down by deadweight.
Romano’s trip to the injured list may show the end is in sight for him. However, this is a case of the Phillies doing everything they can to avoid ripping off the band-aid.
As Baseball Savant shows, Romano is conceding a WOBA of .320 or higher (league average, per FanGraphs) in 11 of 13 areas of the strike zone. You don’t have to be a baseball expert to know that isn’t good.
The Phillies are running out of excuses to keep him on the roster, and Jose Alvarado’s postseason suspension can’t be one of them. Placing a rock on the mound would be better than Romano because you know the rock won’t give up runs.
Dave Dombrowski is clinging to any glimmer of hope Romano can be serviceable to justify signing him, but there’s no remaining hope for him.
One of the best things the Phillies can do is move on. It should’ve been done a while ago, but better late than never. Otherwise, he’ll cost the team a crucial game in the playoffs.
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