Are Blue Jays going to let Jordan Romano get to free agency?

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In his most recent seasons with the Blue Jays, Jordan Romano has been a fan favourite, a popular teammate and, as the closer, a critical part to the team’s bullpen.

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For much of it, he was the star of the show as well, thanks to the loud music and strobing light show intro when he entered a Rogers Centre contest in a save situation.

Romano is also one of the few remaining developmental success stories on the Jays roster making the uncertainty of his immediate future all the more intriguing.

Multiple sources have told the Toronto Sun that the Canadian closer is a strong candidate to be non-tendered at Friday’s Major League Baseball deadline, which could spring Romano into free agency a year early and into a state of uncertainty regarding his future.

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Where he goes from there remains to be seen, but if the Jays veer in that direction, it could end the Toronto tenure of one of the most successful relievers in franchise history. And all of it done as a means for the front office to save some money for a team in desperate need of bullpen arms.

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If Jays management opts to go down that path, it will be yet another move that riles up a fan base already steaming about the club’s last-place finish in 2024 and one-and-done playoff debacles the previous two seasons.

It would certainly be a kick to Romano, who admittedly is coming off an injury-riddled season that both limited his time on the mound and his effectiveness, but has been a rock in the bullpen for a number of seasons.

And it also would be seen as an unpopular move in the Jays clubhouse, where Romano has long been regarded as a popular teammate and leader among the relievers.

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For the Jays, the Romano situation is far from simple given that the 31-year-old right hander is projected to earn close to $7.75 million US prior to next season. Complicating the issue is the fact that the Markham, Ont., native both began and ended the 2024 season on the injury list.

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In a 2024 season that didn’t go as planned for almost every Jays player not named Vlad Guerrero Jr., Romano appeared in just 15 games, never getting things right as he slipped to an ERA of 6.59.

His season ended on July 2 when he underwent arthroscopic surgery to strengthen an impingement on his elbow.

And here’s where the harsh reality and ruthlessness of pro baseball comes in to play.

Before Friday’s 7 p.m. deadline, the Jays likely will want to be assured that Romano is healthy and that the surgery has restored his elbow back to the shape it was when he was the clear go-to arm in the Jays bullpen.

But how much will they want Romano to reveal, given what’s at stake and how much will the Jays medical staff be able to determine before deciding on whether they want to tender him a contract?

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Romano, who lives in Florida in the off-season, told the Toronto Sun that he has been working out regularly at the team’s player development complex in Dunedin as he recovers from the procedure that ended his season so early. It is unclear how much serious throwing he has done this early into the off-season and coming off of surgery, though it is believed he hasn’t simulated any game situations at this point.

The Jays certainly have hinted at where they are going to go with Romano, even though the team’s bullpen imploded with the ace reliever’s sustained absence.

At his season-ending press conference, general manager Ross Atkins hardly issued a ringing endorsement of Romano’s future with the team.

“I mean, he’s got to come back and be the pitcher (he’s been in the past),” Atkins said when asked whether Romano could be the team’s closer in 2025. “I don’t want to just lay my head on the pillow and say ‘OK, that’s covered.’ I want to be open to it, depending upon his return, depending on how he’s feeling.”

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In other words, the GM was keeping the door wide open for what many expect to happen on Friday.

If the Jays do non-tender Romano, there are options, including negotiating a return at a considerably lower salary. What might be attractive to the pitcher though, would be a two-year deal, which one could certainly argue he deserves.

But for a team in need of multiple high-leverage reliever arms, that could prove a risky strategy for a player that has brought so much to the team. Depending on future physicals, Romano could be in demand across baseball if he hits the market.

Until his physical troubles this season, he had been a rock-solid reliever for his hometown team. In parts of six seasons with the Jays, Romano  recorded 105 saves and twice was named to the American League all-star team.

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Though he had just eight saves in 2024, when he reached 105 on May 29, he became third all-time in that category in Jays history.

At the least, that body of work deserves a shot at keeping his job.

Given the sorry state of the Jays bullpen, the team has plenty to do in that area, a point acknowledged by Atkins.

If there’s uncertainty to Romano’s physical status and a desire to avoid making him one of the higher-paid relievers in baseball, expect them to try to save that money by non-tendering him on Friday.

That could allow Romano to hit free agency a year early with nothing in return and open up the possibility for a multiple-year deal elsewhere.

And, if the Canadian closer does that and comes back with an electric arm to match his high-energy Rogers Centre intro, it could go down as one of the biggest blunders in this regime’s history.

Which, of course, is saying something.

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