The Dodgers had high hopes when they signed right handed reliever Sergio Romo to a one-year three million dollar contract in the offseason. The 34-year old was supposed to serve as the Dodgers primary eighth inning setup-man. Romo was slotted to be the bridge to Kenley Jansen especially after Joe Blanton left for Washington. The Dodgers were in need of a right handed middle reliever and Romo fit that bill.
But Romo has been horrendous for most of the season. Despite spending a couple of weeks on the disabled list with an ankle injury, his poor pitching has been mostly attributed to age, decline and just plain old sucking.
And so the Dodgers finally have had enough. The club announced they have designated Romo for assignment in order to clear room for left hander Grant Dayton who was activated off of the disabled list before the opening game of a four game series with the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night.
Through 30 games Romo has posted a 1-1 record with a 6.12 ERA. The veteran struck out 31 and walked 12 across 25 innings pitched. His peripherals weren’t as bad as you think. He did strike out 11.2 per nine innings and allowed 8.3 hits per nine. He did allow 7 home runs and 17 earned runs in 25 frames. That came out to a 69 ERA+, which is well below league average. FIP indicators did not like his pitching either which credited him with a 5.73 mark.
If this is the end of the line for Romo, he carries a 2.77 ERA and a 33-27 record in 545 MLB games. He’s recorded 84 saves and struck out 10.2 per nine while logging 464.2 innings pitched. He’s also struck out 1,845 and posted a 0.979 career WHIP. Perhaps the Giants can resign him as they did with Pablo Sandoval. He will not be missed, but we wish him the best in his future endeavors.
