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JoJo Romero

Cardinals, Phillies Swap Edmundo Sosa For JoJo Romero

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The Phillies and Cardinals announced agreement on a trade sending infielder Edmundo Sosa from St. Louis to Philadelphia for left-handed reliever JoJo Romero. Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo of the Athletic first reported Sosa was being traded to Philadelphia. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in the past couple days that the Cards have been discussing trades involving Sosa and could bring Paul DeJong back to the big league roster.

The Cards and Phillies enter play Saturday tied for the final Wild Card spot in the National League. It’s rare to see clubs this close in the standings exchange big leaguers, but the teams’ needs lined up well enough to facilitate a deal. Sosa had surpassed DeJong on the depth chart late last season, receiving the lion’s share of shortstop playing time down the stretch and putting up a solid .271/.346/.389 line over his first extended run in the big leagues. Yet both players have since been supplanted, as the arrival of top prospect Nolan Gorman at second base has pushed Tommy Edman across the bag to shortstop.

Sosa, kicked to the bench in a utility capacity, has struggled significantly in 2022. He’s not collected a single homer in 131 plate appearances, hitting only .189/.244/.270 with a 29% strikeout rate. He’s out of minor league option years, so the Cardinals had to either keep Sosa on the active roster or make him available to other teams. They initially chose to option out DeJong to keep both players on the 40-man roster, but the latter has gotten out a strong run at Triple-A Memphis of late. DeJong has a .249/.313/.552 showing with 17 homers in 230 plate appearances since being optioned, and he’ll seemingly be recalled to back up Gorman, Edman and utilityman Brendan Donovan as a power-hitting depth infielder.

Philadelphia has a less robust collection of infielders than does St. Louis, giving them more motivation to keep Sosa on the active roster and hope he rediscovers something approaching his 2021 form. The Phils have relied on Bryson Stott and Didi Gregorius in the middle infield of late, and Gregorius has struggled for the second consecutive year. The forthcoming return of Jean Segura from the injured list figures to kick Stott back to shortstop, and it’s worth wondering how the Phillies will handle the infield mix at that point. Gregorius could move into a utility role, but his .218/.274/.320 line could put his roster spot into jeopardy. Philadelphia could also choose to option either of Johan Camargo or Yairo Munoz, each of whom has played sporadically (primarily spelling Gregorius against left-handed pitching) in a utility infield capacity.

Sosa is only 26 years old, and he’s controllable through the 2026 season. He’s likely to qualify for arbitration this offseason as a Super Two player, but he wouldn’t command an exorbitant salary coming off a rough showing in sporadic playing time this year. The Phillies could keep him around for a while as a depth infielder if they’re committed to keeping him on the active roster.

In exchange, the Phils send a left-handed bullpen arm to St. Louis. Romero has appeared in 25 MLB games over the past three seasons, pitching to a 7.89 ERA in 21 2/3 innings. The 25-year-old has been quite home run prone in the big leagues, but he’s averaged nearly 95 MPH on his fastball and received decent grades on both his changeup and slider while he was a prospect.

Romero has missed the bulk of the past two seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery last May, but he returned from the injured list a couple weeks ago. He’s in his second of three option seasons, so the Cards can move him between St. Louis and Memphis over the next year and a half if he holds his 40-man roster spot. St. Louis already has Genesis Cabrera, Zack Thompson, Packy Naughton and T.J. McFarland as left-handed relievers in the majors, but Romero adds a hard-throwing depth piece to the upper levels.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Phillies Recall Bailey Falter

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The Phillies have recalled southpaw Bailey Falter from Triple-A, per the team. In a corresponding move, JoJo Romero was optioned to Triple-A.

This is a small roster move for the Phillies that nevertheless represents a larger problem for the roster: starting rotation depth. For most of this season, the Phillies five-man rotation of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Kyle Gibson, Zach Eflin, and Ranger Suarez has been healthy and effective. Phillies’ starters rank first in the Majors by the measure of fWAR. But at the end of June, both Suarez and Eflin landed on the injured list. Suarez is now back, but as for Eflin, questions remain.

The Phillies have no timetable for when Eflin might return to the active roster, per The Athletic’s Matt Gelb. Eflin’s dealing with a knee that’s twice been surgically repaired in the last six years. Eflin’s timetable could swing the Phillies decision-making strategy regarding the upcoming trade deadline, notes Gelb. If he’s not looking any better in the next week so, Philadelphia could feel encouraged to make a move for a starting pitcher.

The NL East has become a bit of a two-team conversation between the Mets and Braves, but the Phillies still have time to elbow their way into the race. If nothing else, they’re firmly in contention for a wild card spot. This team has been pushing hard for years to make the postseason, and there’s no reason to think they’re going to take their foot off the gas now. If indeed they are intent on making a postseason run, then acquiring some rotation insurance should be pretty high up on their list of trade deadline targets.

For now, Falter will step into the rotation. The 25-year-old lefty has made nine appearances for the Phillies this season, five of them starts, with a 4.82 ERA/5.37 FIP across 28 innings. He’s been stellar through seven starts in Triple-A, posting a 1.56 ERA/2.46 FIP over 34 2/3 innings.

Phillies Reinstate Connor Brogdon, JoJo Romero; Will Toffey Outrighted

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The Phillies announced Friday that they’ve reinstated righty Connor Brogdon from the Covid-related injured list and lefty JoJo Romero from the 60-day injured list. That necessitated a pair of 40-man moves. Infielder Will Toffey outright to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after clearing waivers, while righty Hans Crouse was recalled from Lehigh Valley and immediately placed on the Major League 60-day injured list. Lefty Cristopher Sanchez was optioned to Lehigh Valley to create additional space on the active roster.

Brogdon, 27, has been on the Covid list since late June but been one of the team’s better relievers when on the field. Through 17 2/3 innings this season, he’s notched a tidy 2.04 ERA with a sizable 28.8% strikeout rate against a much better-than-average 6.8% walk rate. Since making his debut with the Phils back in 2020, he’s totaled 86 1/3 frames with a 3.22 ERA, an average fastball of 95.9 mph and above-average strikeout and walk rates.

Romero, meanwhile, has yet to pitch in the Majors this season due to an elbow injury. The 25-year-old hasn’t had much MLB success to this point (7.32 ERA in 2020-21), but he only has 19 2/3 innings under his belt in the big leagues. Like Brogdon, Romero averages better than 95 mph with his heater. He just wrapped up a minor league rehab assignment that saw him post a 1.54 ERA and 15-to-2 K/BB ratio through 11 2/3 innings across four minor league levels, topping out with 3 2/3 scoreless frames in Triple-A.

Losing his spot on the 40-man roster is the 27-year-old Toffey, who didn’t appear in a game before being passed through waivers and sent back down. The journeyman infielder would’ve been making his MLB debut had he gotten into a game. A 2017 fourth-round pick by the A’s, Toffey is already in his fourth organization and has batted .266/.385/.438 in 192 plate appearances while playing primarily third base so far in Triple-A this season.

As for Crouse, he’s been on the minor league injured list since April due to tendinitis in his right biceps. Today’s move is quite beneficial for him, as he’ll now continue rehabbing that injury while being paid at the prorated Major League minimum and acquire Major League service time along the way. As Matt Gelb of The Athletic rightly points out, the Phillies have also done this with lefty Damon Jones and right-hander James McArthur. Most clubs shy away from going this route, but the Phils have opted to give service time and big league pay to a trio of pitchers rather than subtract elsewhere on the roster as the need for space arises.

Phillies Outright Scott Moss

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MARCH 16: Moss has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the team announced. He doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse an outright assignment, so he’ll remain in the organization.

MARCH 15: The Phillies announced Tuesday that they’ve designated lefty Scott Moss for assignment. That’s one of two corresponding moves to make room for the signings of lefty Brad Hand and righty Jeurys Familia — both of whom signed one-year, $6MM contracts to join the Philadelphia bullpen. Both contracts have now been formally announced. The Phils also placed lefty JoJo Romero on the 60-day IL.

Moss, 27, is still searching for his MLB debut. The former fourth-round pick posted solid numbers with both Cincinnati and Cleveland early in his professional career, with his 2019 season in particular standing out. That season saw Moss make 26 starts between Double-A and Triple-A while working to a 2.96 ERA with an impressive 28.9% strikeout rate (against a much less-inspiring 12.7% walk rate).

Moss was in Cleveland’s 60-man player pool during the shortened 2020 season but never got a look in the big leagues. This past year in Triple-A, injuries limited him to just nine games and 20 1/3 innings, during which time he posted a 7.08 ERA. The Phillies claimed him off waivers from the Guardians back in November, but he’ll now either be traded within the week or again made available to all 29 other teams via outright waivers.

Phillies To Sign Jeurys Familia

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The Phillies are in agreement with reliever Jeurys Familia, pending a physical, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). It’s a one-year, $6MM guarantee for the ACES client, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter links). The deal also contains an additional $1MM in possible incentives.

Familia has a solid track record throughout his ten-year MLB career. He owns six seasons with at least 20+ innings of sub-4.00 ERA ball, including a three-year peak when he was one of the top late-game arms in baseball. Familia was a dominant option for the Mets from 2014-16, including a league-best 51-save 2016 campaign. The righty’s strikeout rates were good but not elite; instead, he thrived on racking up ground-balls at a massive clip.

Since that prime, Familia’s performance has fluctuated. He followed up a solid 2018 showing with a rocky campaign. Familia’s run prevention in 2020 (3.71 ERA in 26 2/3 innings) was alright, but his strikeout and walk numbers that year were dismal. His ERA ticked up a bit to 3.94 last season, but Familia’s K/BB rates were better. He punched out an impressive 27.5% of opponents; his 10.3% walk rate remained a bit high, but it marked a notable improvement over the prior year’s 15.8% mark.

As he has throughout his career, Familia did a nice job keeping the ball on the ground. Last year’s 51% rate wasn’t at his peak levels, but it’s still far above the 43.1% league average for bullpen arms. That’s no doubt of appeal to a Philadelphia team that plays in one of the league’s most hitter-friendly home ballparks. Familia’s home run rate spiked a bit last season, but he’s traditionally been excellent at keeping the ball in the yard.

He was also one of the hardest throwers remaining on the free agent market. Familia averaged 97.3 MPH on his heater last season, and he’ll give skipper Joe Girardi another power arm he can rely upon late in games. It’s possible the 32-year-old even picks up some save opportunities. He’s worked in the middle innings over the past few seasons, but he’d obviously shown himself capable of having success in the ninth earlier in his career. At present, fellow offseason signee Corey Knebel seems the favorite for saves, but the Phils didn’t promise him the closer’s role when they added him before the lockout. If Girardi prefers to use Knebel in high-leverage work earlier in games, Familia could be an option to pick up some ninth-inning time.

Of course, it’s also possible the Phillies make another bullpen pickup or two in the coming weeks. Philadelphia’s troubles holding leads in recent years have been well-documented. Last year, Phillie relievers tied with the Nationals for the league lead in blown saves (34). The Phils have seen Héctor Neris and Archie Bradley hit free agency (Bradley remains unsigned), leaving Connor Brogdon as the only returning bullpen arm who tossed 20+ innings with a sub-4.00 ERA.

The Phillies created a spot on the 40-man roster this evening by placing left-hander JoJo Romero on the 60-day injured list. The 25-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery last May; given the timeline of that procedure, it’s no surprise he’ll miss at least the first two months of the season.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Phillies’ JoJo Romero To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Phillies left-hander JoJo Romero will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the 2021 season, manager Joe Girardi announced to reporters (link via Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia). He’ll undergo the procedure next week and miss a good portion of the 2022 season as well.

The 24-year-old Romero hasn’t yet had much success at the big league level yet, surrendering 16 earned runs on 25 hits and six walks with 18 punchouts in 25 2/3 innings. But he’s regarded as one of the organization’s more promising young arms, placing 13th among Phillies farmhands at FanGraphs and 21st at Baseball America. Romero has tallied 392 2/3 innings in the minors since being selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, pitching to an overall 3.69 ERA with a 21.7 percent strikeout rate, an 8.1 percent walk rate and a hearty 53.2 percent ground-ball rate. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen tabs him as a possible multi-inning reliever for the Phils.

Romero’s season-ending injury allowed the Phillies to move him to the 60-day injured list and free up a 40-man roster spot for infielder Ronald Torreyes, who returned from the Covid-19 list last night and delivered a two-run, pinch-hit double in Philadelphia’s win over Miami.

Phillies Place Archie Bradley On 10-Day Injured List

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3:50 pm: Bradley’s IL placement is now official, with the team announcing it’s a left oblique strain. The Phillies recalled southpaw JoJo Romero in a corresponding move.

1:51 pm: The Phillies will be placing right-hander Archie Bradley on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique injury, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reports (Twitter links).  Bradley just pitched yesterday, allowing two hits and recording one out against the three batters he faced, and he was charged with the loss as Philadelphia dropped a 5-4 result to Atlanta.

IL visits are rare for Bradley, who hasn’t officially missed any time since the 2015 season.  The severity of the oblique problem isn’t yet known, as more severe strains can lead to months-long absences.  Even a 10-day stint for Bradley would represent a blow to the Phillies’ bullpen, which has posted some solid results this year following a thoroughly disastrous performance in 2020.

Bradley was one of several new faces added to the rebuilt bullpen over the offseason, as he signed a one-year, $6MM deal with Philadelphia after being non-tendered by the Reds earlier in the winter.  The Reds’ decision was seemingly more based around saving money on Bradley’ arbitration salary (projected to fall between $4.3MM and $5.7MM) than on Bradley’s performance, as he posted a 2.95 ERA/3.44 SIERA over 18 1/3 combined innings with the Diamondbacks and Reds in 2020.  Bradley has worked as a closer in the past, but seemed slated for set-up duty or general high-leverage usage thus far with the Phillies.

Phillies Option Scott Kingery, JoJo Romero; Release Christian Bethancourt

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The Phillies announced a set of roster moves, including the news that utilityman Scott Kingery, left-hander JoJo Romeo, and catcher Rafael Marchan have been optioned to Triple-A.  Outfielder Travis Jankowski and catcher Rodolfo Duran were reassigned to the team’s minor league camp, and catcher Christian Bethancourt (in camp on a minors contract) has been released.

Though Kingery has had a tough time at the plate in Spring Training, it still counts as something of a surprise to see the 26-year-old not break camp with the team.  While Kingery could be recalled in relatively short order, today’s move underlines how the former top prospect has struggled since the start of the 2020 season, a year that saw him suffer through a positive COVID-19 diagnosis during the summer and then hit just .159/.228/.283 in 124 plate appearances once he got onto the field.

The Phillies thought so highly of Kingery’s potential in 2018 that he was signed to a contract extension before even debuting in the majors.  Though he had a rough 2018 rookie season, Kingery looked to be turning the corner with a respectable .258/.315/.474 slash line over 500 plate appearances in 2019 before his season-long setback last year.  Heading into the current season, Kingery was seen as a candidate to win the Phillies’ center field job.  While Kingery would still have been a backup option at multiple other positions, it seemed as though he would primarily be focused on outfield work — perhaps a necessary move, given how Kingery has spoken in the past about the extra difficulties associated with a super-utility role.

With Kingery now in the minors, it could be a sign that the Phillies are confident that Brad Miller will be ready to go on Opening Day and assume super-utility duties.  Miller has been out since March 10 due to an oblique injury, but he is in Philadelphia’s lineup today for their Spring Training game with the Yankees.

Romero’s demotion also counts as a bit of a surprise, both because he’d pitched well in camp and because Jose Alvarado now looks to be the only left-hander in the Philly bullpen after Tony Watson opted out of his minor league contract earlier this week.  The hard-throwing Romero (a fourth-round pick for the Phillies in the 2016 draft) worked exclusively as a reliever when making his MLB debut in 2020, but since he has otherwise operated as a starting pitcher in the minors, he could be kept stretched out as potential rotation depth.

Bethancourt signed minor league contracts with the Phillies in each of the last two offseasons, but has yet to appear in a big league game with the team.  Bethancourt hit .222/.252/.316 over 489 PA with the Braves and Padres from 2013-17 and hasn’t since returned to the Show, spending 2018 with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate and playing in South Korea in 2019.

Phillies Likely Done Spending For Now

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The Phillies payroll is roughly where it was last year – at least as long as they entertain rostering Brandon Kintzler and Tony Watson on opening day. A lot remains to be seen, but it’s certainly a possibility that the pair of veteran relievers makes the team. In that case, they would both make $3MM, pushing their luxury tax payroll close to $208MM, writes the Athletic’s Matt Gelb. Wanting to leave a touch of breathing room under the tax for an in-season acquisition, the Phillies are likely done adding Major League players. Whether the Phillies should trifle over surpassing the luxury tax by a million or two is certainly worth the question, but it’s not a level of spending they’ve breached in the past.

If they are using that line as a soft cap,  there won’t be much flexibility even for a mid-season acquisition. Clearing close to $6MM by not putting Kintzler and Watson on the roster might be appealing for that cause, but considering the disaster that was their 2020 bullpen, they may prefer having those veteran hands at the ready. Kintzler was the Marlins closer last year with a 2.24 ERA over 24 1/3 innings. Watson logged a 2.50 ERA across 18 innings for the Giants. Both have been steady Eddies for the past decade out of the bullpen.

Watson, for his part, fits a particular need for the Phillies. Southpaw Ranger Suárez is behind in his preparation by a couple of weeks because of visa issues, notes Gelb. Suárez would be one of the lefties competing for a spot in the bullpen. If Suárez isn’t ready for opening day, Watson would be in competition with JoJo Romero for deputy southpaw behind nominal sheriff José Alvarado. The 24-year-old Romero had a 7.59 ERA in 12 appearances last year. There are plenty of reason to be bullish on Romero, however. He had a 3.66 FIP and minuscule 4.3 percent walk rate, suggesting better times may be ahead for the crowd-pleasing southpaw. Still, Watson is by far the most experienced arm with a 2.80 ERA/3.61 FIP in 591 career innings.

Damon Jones, Kyle Dohy, Cristopher Sánchez, and Bailey Falter are the other left-handers on the Phillies 40-man. None of the four have experience at the Major League level, however.

Phillies Acquire Cristopher Sanchez From Rays

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The Phillies announced that they’ve acquired lefty Cristopher Sanchez from the Rays in exchange for minor league infielder Curtis Mead. Sanchez has been selected to the 40-man roster, per the team, as have three other players: right-hander Mauricio Llovera and left-handers Garrett Cleavinger and JoJo Romero.

The 22-year-old Sanchez had been with the Rays since they signed him out of the Dominican Republic in 2013. He has pitched almost exclusively in the low minors since then, and is now coming off a season in which he threw 34 innings of 1.85 ERA ball with 9.53 K/9, 3.44 BB/9 and a 54.1 percent ground-ball rate at the Single-A level.

The Australian-born Mead, 19, signed with the Phillies since May 2018. He impressed over 175 plate appearances in 2019 at the rookie level, where he batted .285/.351/.462 and hit four home runs.

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