Phillies, Romero complete deal
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Phillies, Romero complete deal
As expected, the Phillies have re-signed lefthanded reliever J.C. Romero to a 1-year contract. The deal is valued at $1.35 million and includes performance bonuses.
Romero was in Philadelphia today for a physical to complete the deal.
Romero, 34, went 1-0 with three saves and a 3.68 ERA in 60 appearances for the Phillies last season. He held left-handed hitters to a .217 average, allowing three extra-base hits in 83 at-bats for a .277 slugging percentage.
Romero began a viable option after a deal with Denys Reyes fell apart. The team and Reyes agreed to a contract at the winter meetings.
After signing with the Phillies in June of 2007, Romero has posted a 2.60 ERA in 213 appearances with the club and has held opposing hitters to a .192 batting average. Lefthanded hitters have been limited to a .166 average during his time with the Phillies, with only four home runs allowed in 247 at-bats. In 13 postseason games with the Phillies, Romero is 2-1 with a 0.87 ERA and .147 opponents’ batting average.
The Phillies will make a roster move at a later date to make room for Romero on the 40-man roster.
I personally like Romero- he struggled last year but I think he will turn it around.
He needs to chill out when he pitches- too tight.
He is nasty when that slider is working.
I like Romero as well. Thinking back to the 08 championship season, the bullpen of Romero-Madsen-Lidge was so crucial that it is hard to believe the Phillies could have won without that setup. The Phillies' staff MVP, Hamels, never really pitched into the 8th inning. It was thought of as good if Myers, Moyer, and Blanton could throw 6 innings for less than 3 runs. Hopefully Romero can regain that importance. May not matter as much if this current rotation pitches into the 7th or 8th often in the playoffs, but as the series against San Fran showed us, the bullpen matters for a lot of different reasons.— trungy- Yeah. He's nasty when he's on, but he's not on consistently which is why boston dumped him originally. Tito francona has said he had to let him go because he couldnt trust him. Give him credit for a great 2008 that was likely a career year, but I'd call that year a fluke based on the rest of his career. I will give him this. He's a better option than Zagurski who is such a lazy slob that he's willing to jeapordize a baseball career because he cant control himself at the dinner table.— Sewellmatt
- he is good when he is on the juice— ralphj
- When Romero came back last year he was barely recognizable. He was so overweight that it wasn't even funny. He was not committing to his stuff as he did before the elbow injury either. I say give him a pass until he gets thru Spring Training. If he is trim and fit, he can contribute big time, as a rare left handed arm in the Phils late game pen. A return to 2007 - 2008 form would show him as a very valuable part of our pen. He has earned that chance in my opinion.— Nemodogdad
- he stinks— manly
- this guy is a real scumbag. he's only ever been good when he juiced, and oh yeah, he assaulted a fan in tampa.
- No mention has been made of his control. Last year he walked 29 in 36 innings, the year before 13 in 16 innings, in his "career" year he walked 38 in 59 innings. It seemed every time last year he was brought in to face a lefty he ended up walking the guy. Expect more in 2011 for this cheater.— borncynic
- terrible— tooltime
- Best affordable option available. He'll only face lefties in certain situations and, I expect and hope, Charlie and Amaro will be ready to pull him for Bastardo if he struggles. Here's our pen:
Closer: Lidge
Setup: Madson, who can close (so-so) if need be.
Contreras: Still has nasty stuff, is unflappable at this stage of his career, and can close or set up if need be.
Romero: Lefties only, situational reliever.
Durbin: Not exciting but pretty reliable.
Baez: If he bounces back, in a contract year, there's upside.
Still looking for a long reliever/mop up, which I presume will come from KK, Worley or Bastardo.
It's a pretty good pen, one that should be able to sustain an injury or a Lidge meltdown better than most. If Lidge is healthy, I actually expect good things. He's been on our club long enough not to feel much pressure this point.
To top it all off, this may be the least-taxed 'pen in the Majors this year, and next. We're in good shape.
We still need a RH hitter who can play outfield as a reserve, and preferably center field.— eman 
Control is indeed the issue with Romero. A situational lefty can't walk the one left-handed hitter he's supposed to retire. Why should we suppose he'll be any better in 2011 than he was in 2010 and his abbreviated 2009?
I like Puerto Rican pitchers. They are sneaky. They like to throw middle in and usually give up medium fly balls.- eman, you're jumping the gun a bit. Durbin isn't signed yet. So who knows what will happen there. Kendrick and Worley will also have a chance to win the fifth starter's job, but I would figure one of them ends up the long man in the bullpen. Hopefully the Phils trade Blanton, save some money, and keep both up.— buttermilk67
- Better than Reyes.— Bartleby
- well given the amazing pitching gifts we got this christmas...i won't begrudge this piece of coal in the bottom of my stocking. hope we can keep durbin though...
