Jordan Romano and Phillies agree to 1-year contract (sources)

Right-hander Jordan Romano and the Phillies have agreed to a one-year deal through 2025, sources told Mark Feinsand and Todd Zolecki of MLB.com on Monday. The team has not confirmed the agreement and a physical negotiation is still pending.

Romano wasn’t scheduled to become a free agent until next offseason, but hit the open market after being non-tendered by the Blue Jays on November 22nd.

The 31-year-old was one of the best closers in baseball from 2021 to 2023, being named to the All-Star selection twice and posting a 2.37 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 95 saves during that time. However, Romano struggled in over 15 appearances (6.59 ERA) in 2024 before undergoing season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow in July.

Cot’s Contracts projected that Romano would receive a salary of $7.75 million in his final arbitration-eligible year, but the Blue Jays opted not to offer him a 2025 contract, so he was at any team could sign.

The Markham, Ontario-born Canadian came to Toronto in 2014 as a 10th-round draft pick out of Oral Roberts University. Romano had a brief stint with the Rangers, who purchased his contract from the White Sox after Chicago selected him in the 2018 Rule 5 Draft, but was traded back to the Blue Jays organization in March 2019.

Romano, a former starter, took on a backup role during the 2019 season. He made his MLB debut in the Blue Jays’ bullpen in June, and while he posted a 7.63 ERA in 17 appearances in 2019, he was successful in 15 games (1.23 ERA) in the shortened 2020 season.

Toronto opened 2021 with a closer team, but Romano eventually took over the role, recording 23 saves with a 2.14 ERA and 85 strikeouts over 63 innings in a breakout season.

Romano was selected to the All-Star selection for the first time the following year and was selected again in 2023. He made 72 saves in those two seasons, ranking second in the MLB behind the Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase (86).