Jordan Romano's recent struggles might lead to the end of his MLB career as the wheels are falling off again.
That is what made the ending hit so hard. Romano did not enter this game looking like a reliever in trouble. He entered it with 4 saves in his first 6 appearances and no runs allowed.
That early work followed a solid spring. By mid-March, Romano had made 3 Cactus League appearances, struck out 3 of the 10 batters he faced, and had not allowed a run or a walk.
So this was supposed to feel different. After a brutal 2025 season with Philadelphia, when he posted an 8.23 ERA, Romano looked like one of the Angels' better rebound bets.
Then Monday happened. The Yankees beat the Angels 11-10, and Romano wore both the blown save and the loss after Trent Grisham tied the game with a 2-run homer in the ninth.
That alone would have been bad enough. But the final blow came on a wild pitch with José Caballero at third and Aaron Judge waiting on deck, which turned a shaky finish into the whole game story.
The ball skipped past the catcher, Caballero broke for home, and Yankee Stadium exploded before Romano could even turn around.
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Former Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano now faces uncertain MLB future
This is where the spring promise stops protecting him. Romano's season line jumped to a 5.40 ERA after that outing, and one bad inning was enough to wipe out the calm he had built over the first 2 weeks.
That is also why this lands as more than one ugly night. The Angels signed Romano for $2,000,000 this winter because they believed his stuff was still there and his results could bounce back.
In one sense, the stuff still showed up. Baseball Savant lists his average fastball velocity at 94.6 mph this season, which says the arm strength has not disappeared.
But closers do not get judged on March or on radar-gun readings. They get judged on the ninth, and Romano just turned a game the Angels had in hand into the latest reminder of how thin the line is for a reliever coming off 2 bad years.
That is the problem now for Suzuki and the Angels. Jordan Romano looked fixed for a minute, but one wild pitch against the Yankees brought all the old doubt rushing right back.
Should the Angels keep trusting Jordan Romano in the ninth inning?
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