The Orioles should sign this non-tendered Blue Jays reliever

At this year’s general manager meetings, Baltimore Orioles GM Mike Elias expressed a four-part wish list for the offseason: land an ace, add a right-handed outfield bat, bring in catching depth, and “potentially bolster the bullpen.”

The Orioles bullpen is currently in a fairly healthy place, with Seranthony Dominguez, Yennier Cano, Gregory Soto, Cionel Perez, and Keegan Akin slated to return. Oh yeah, Felix Bautista will also make his return in 2025 after missing the 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He’s pretty good.

Surprisingly, relievers Danny Coulombe and Jacob Webb will likely not be back in 2025. The Orioles declined to pick up Coulombe’s $4 million option earlier in the offseason and non-tendered Jacob Webb ahead of the November 22nd non-tender deadline. Replacing the production lost from these two arms while strengthening the back end of the bullpen should be a bit higher on the priority list.

One possible option for the Orioles to bolster their bullpen is RHP Jordan Romano. Projected to earn $7.75 million in arbitration this offseason, the Toronto Blue Jays non-tendered their former All-Star closer, instantly making him one of the more intriguing rebound candidates on the open market.

Former Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano would be a strong winter addition for the Orioles

The biggest question surrounding Romano is his health. The 31-year-old reliever logged a mere 13.2 innings in 2024 due to an impingement in his right elbow. There was a belief at one point that Romano could return before the end of the 2024 season but with the Blue Jays out of the playoff race and nothing to play for, Romano wasn’t pushed back to return.

Before his injury riddled campaign last year, Romano was one of the more effective relief arms in the league. From 2021-2023, Romano pitched 186 innings with a 2.37 ERA, 230 strikeouts, and converted 95 of his 106 save opportunities. Only Emmanuel Clase, Kenley Jansen, and Josh Hader had more saves over that span.

Romano’s fastball/slider combo is lethal when on. Looking at his 2023 numbers, Romano’s fastball averaged 96.7 mph and had an incredible 137 Stuff+, per FanGraphs (top 20 in baseball). In case you’re curious, Stuff+ combines a variety of factors such as velocity, spin, extension, break, etc and attempts to describe how “nasty” a pitch is, to put it simply (100 is league average, higher is better).

Romano’s fastball limited opponents to a .222 average and .370 slugging percentage while producing a 32% whiff rate. With his velo and seven and a half feet of extension, which was the largest extension in MLB in 2023, Romano’s fastball jumps on hitters like few others do. His slider, which was used more often than his fastball, was even more effective as it limited hitters to a .216 average and .338 slugging percentage with a 38.6% whiff rate.

The Orioles will need to replace Webb’s 60 innings of production from last season, and while Coulombe missed most of the season with an injury, he was one of the most effective arms on the staff when healthy. There are holes to fill in the bullpen, along with some question marks.

Felix Bautista should be a full-go come Opening Day, but he will be fresh off Tommy John surgery. Luis Gonzalez and Kade Strowd have been added to the 40-man roster since the end of the season, but Gonzalez will be 33 and has yet to pitch in the big leagues. While Strowd’s stuff is legit, it’s his minor league options that give his value a boost and likely a big reason why he was protected ahead of the Rule 5 draft.

Would taking a risk on Romano and his health be worth it with these question marks and holes to fill? Absolutely. The Orioles are no longer constrained by the tight pockets of previous ownership. Getting a little risky on a proven veteran reliever shouldn’t be an issue. A healthy Bautista-Romano tandem in the back end of the bullpen could prove to be one of the more formidable duos in the league, and allow arms like Cano and Dominguez to be deployed more effectively.

Baltimore was also reportedly interested in adding Jordan Romano early last year. Now, they have an opportunity to acquire him at a discount, without needing to trade a prospect haul for him. As long as the medicals check out, he would make for a great addition to the Orioles 2025 bullpen.