Pirates Place Enny Romero On DL
4:08pm: Pittsburgh intended to designate Romero, but it instead placed on him on the disabled list with a left shoulder impingement, according to a team announcement (via Adam Berry of MLB.com).
10:33am: The Pirates have designated left-hander Enny Romero for assignment, per a team announcement. Romero’s roster spot will go righty Nick Kingham, who will make his first career start Sunday.
It may go down as a short stay in the Pittsburgh organization for Romero, who joined the team off waivers two weeks ago after the Nationals designated him. The 27-year-old Romero’s shining moment with the Pirates has actually come with the bat, as he smacked a double – his first career hit – in an appearance against the Rockies on April 18.
Unfortunately for Romero and the Bucs, his time on the mound with the club hasn’t been as memorable. Prior to Sunday’s designation, he struggled somewhat across four innings, yielding five runs (two earned) on seven hits and three walks, with five strikeouts. Overall, Romero has combined for 142 MLB frames with a 4.69 ERA/4.06 FIP, 9.7 K/9 against 4.56 BB/9 and a 40.4 percent grounder rate with the Rays, Nats and Pirates.
Pirates Claim Enny Romero From Nationals
The Pirates have claimed left-hander Enny Romero off waivers from the Nationals, as per a Pittsburgh media release. Romero will claim an open spot on the Bucs’ 40-man roster, and the release stated that he’ll join the Major League roster once a corresponding move is made.
Washington designated Romero for assignment last week in the wake of a tough start to the season that saw the lefty allow three runs over two innings pitched. Romero was something of the victim of a roster crunch, as the Nats chose to subtract from their eight-man bullpen to add extra bench depth in the form of utilityman Matt Reynolds. In 2017, Romero posted a 3.56 ERA, 10.5 K/9, and a 2.83 K/BB rate over 55 2/3 IP for the Nationals.
Romero will join closer Felipe Vazquez as the only other left-handed reliever on the Pirates’ 25-man roster, with Steven Brault (in the rotation) and Josh Smoker (at Triple-A) representing the only other southpaws on Pittsburgh’s 40-man. Romero isn’t an ideal candidate, however, to provide balance to the Pirates bullpen since he has been a reverse-splits pitcher over his 138 career innings. Left-handed batters have a healthy .317/.398/.467 slash line against him while right-handed batters have hit just .232/.317/.371.
Nationals Designate Enny Romero, Select Jhonatan Solano’s Contract
The Nationals have designated left-hander Enny Romero for assignment, as per a team announcement. In corresponding moves, the club has selected the contract of catcher Jhonatan Solano from Triple-A and also called up utilityman Matt Reynolds, while catcher Miguel Montero has been placed on the paternity list.
Romero posted a 3.56 ERA, 10.5 K/9, and 2.83 K/BB rate over 55 2/3 innings out of Washington’s bullpen last season, with those solid results powered by a fastball that averaged 98 mph. He did allow runs in both of his outings so far in 2018, however, which seems to have made him the odd man out of the eight-man Nats pen, especially since the team needed some extra bench depth with Adam Eaton hampered by a minor ankle issue. (Manager Dave Martinez told the Washington Post’s Jorge Castillo and other reporters that Eaton is available today and is expected to start tomorrow, quelling fears about Eaton’s status.)
Reynolds was a second-round pick for the Mets in the 2012 draft, though after 226 PA (and a .228/.300/.351 slash line) for the team in 2016-17, New York dealt Reynolds to Washington last February after designating him for assignment. Reynolds has spent the bulk of his pro career as a shortstop, though he has also seen plenty of action as a second baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. The 27-year-old has hit .279/.346/.396 over 2152 career plate appearances in the minors.
Solano’s stint in the big leagues may be a short one while Montero is temporarily absent, though appearing in a game would mark Solano’s first MLB action since 2015. Solano played in 43 games for the Nationals and Marlins over the 2012, 2013, and 2015 seasons, and the 32-year-old has since played for the Nats’ Triple-A affiliate.
Nationals Notes: Closer, Romero, Scherzer
Nationals GM Mike Rizzo was a guest on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM earlier today and discussed his team’s ninth inning option with hosts Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette (audio link via Soundcloud). “We feel that we have a closer in house,” said Rizzo. “We’ve felt that ever since early in the offseason when we didn’t get one of the big three closers. We feel that he’s here. We’ll figure out which one it is. They all have the stuff to do it. You talk about a power bullpen — we’ve got four or five guys that throw 95-plus in the bullpen.” Pressed further on the issue later in the interview, Rizzo conceded that if things aren’t going well during the season, the Nationals will be open to seeking outside alternatives, but the GM did not indicate that he’s looking to acquire a closer in the limited time between now and Opening Day.
David Robertson has been the “proven closer” that is most commonly linked to the Nats in trade rumors, though FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported earlier today that the sides don’t seem to feel the other is all that serious about getting a trade worked out. Per Heyman, the Nationals feel the asking price on Robertson means that the Sox aren’t all that interested in moving him, whereas the Sox feel the Nationals haven’t been very aggressive in pursuing him.
A couple more on last year’s NL East champs…
- Also from that MLB Network Radio interview, Bowden specifically asked Rizzo about the team’s acquisition of left-hander Enny Romero from the Rays. Bowden noted that Romero caught his attention during the World Baseball Classic when hitting 100 mph with his fastball, and Rizzo explained that Romero has been on the team’s radar for years. The Washington GM revealed that he pushed for the Rays to include Romero in the trade that sent Nate Karns to the Rays in exchange for Felipe Rivero and Jose Lobaton, but the Rays would not part with him.
- Max Scherzer threw 54 pitches in a minor league game against the Mets today, writes Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, and he did so with his traditional fastball grip — a grip he’d been unable to use earlier this spring as he worked back from a stress fracture in the knuckle of his right ring finger. Scherzer had previously experimented with a three-fingered grip on his fastball in order to alleviate some pressure on the problematic knuckle, but he was relieved to get back to his traditional pitch arsenal today, Janes notes. The plan for Scherzer is to start a Major League game six days from now, which would give Scherzer time to make three more spring outings. “That’s 70, 85, 100 [pitches],” Scherzer said, suggesting that he’ll have time to ramp up for the season. Janes notes that that schedule wouldn’t line Scherzer up to start on Opening Day but could allow him to make his 2017 debut during the Nationals’ first turn through their rotation.
Nationals Acquire Enny Romero From Rays
The Rays and Nationals have announced a trade sending left-handed reliever Enny Romero to Washington for minor league right-hander Jeffrey Rosa The move will open a spot on the 40-man roster for first baseman Logan Morrison, whose one-year deal to return to Tampa Bay is now official. The Nationals, on the other hand, did not need to make a 40-man roster move to accommodate Romero. Even after this trade, their 40-man count is still just at 39 players.
[Related: Updated Washington Nationals Depth Chart and Tampa Bay Rays Depth Chart]
The 26-year-old Romero has had a pair of rough seasons in Tampa Bay, pitching to a 5.59 ERA in 75 2/3 innings at the Major League level from 2015-16. While he’s shown a penchant for missing bats (9.6 K/9), Romero has also averaged 4.9 walks per nine innings pitched and logged a slightly below-average ground-ball rate. However, his strikeout prowess and a power fastball that has averaged 96.1 mph over the past two seasons likely made him appealing to the Nationals.
Romero is out of minor league options, so he’ll have to break camp with the Nationals to open the season or first be exposed to waivers. He’ll head to Spring Training and give the Nats a third left-handed option behind veteran southpaw Oliver Perez and impressive young lefty Sammy Solis. If Romero ultimately proves able to harness his impressive velocity and strikeout potential, he’ll be a nice long-term option in the Nationals’ bullpen, as he’s controllable via arbitration through the 2021 season.
The 21-year-old Rosa has pitched 96 1/3 innings as a pro and pitched to a 3.83 ERA with a 103-to-49 K/BB ratio since signing as an amateur. He’s yet to crack any top prospect ranking within the Nationals organization, and that’s not terribly surprising given his age and the fact that he’s yet to advance beyond Rookie-level ball. But the out-of-options Romero was likely viewed as a potential 40-man casualty in Spring Training, as the Rays have Xavier Cedeno firmly ahead of him on the depth chart in addition to a slew of right-handed options that figure to merit spots.
It’s possible that Tampa Bay could seek further left-handed depth between now and Opening Day, though they could simply look at Cedeno, Alex Colome, Brad Boxberger, Erasmo Ramirez, Danny Farquhar and Shawn Tolleson as a likely front six in their relief corps. That would leave a number of other 40-man arms and non-roster invitees to battle it out for the final bullpen spot. All of those options can be seen on the Rays’ depth chart at Roster Resource.
Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first reported that Romero was going to the Nats (on Twitter). Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweeted that the Nationals were sending a Gulf Coast League pitcher to the Rays in the deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.