Insider Says Phillies 'Have Become Concerned' With Their New Closer

The Philadelphia Phillies didn't do much this offseason.

With a roster that's already loaded with star players, the front office decided to improve the outer edges of the group instead of overhauling the entire unit despite two straight frustrating exits in the playoffs.

Where things did change was in their bullpen.

The Phillies let both Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez walk in free agency, opting to bring Joe Ross and Jordan Romano into the mix on more affordable deals.

Romano was a classic buy-low deal, hoping the former All-Star closer would return to that version after injuries derailed his 2024 season and caused the Toronto Blue Jays to non-tender him this past winter.

However, things have not gotten off the to start that Philadelphia imagined.

In fact, with Romano sitting with a 10.50 ERA across his seven outings, Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY reports there are some nerves within the building about what they're seeing.

"The Phillies have become concerned with closer Jason Romano, who averaged 96.8-mph on his fastball two years ago, but now is down to about 92-94-mph and struggling holding on runners," he wrote.

So far, Baseball Savant has clocked his average four-seam fastball at 94.8 mph, down 1.6 mph from the figure he had in 2024 prior to getting hurt.

That does not bode well for his velocity going forward.

The good news is that the underlying metrics actually suggest a turnaround could be coming.

Romano's hard hit percentage is at 29.4%, the lowest of his career by a mile. His barrel rate is also 5.9%, which would be a full percentage point lower than his previous career-best. His expected ERA is also 4.11, indicating he's gotten unlucky during the early part of the year.

That's not to say the Phillies shouldn't be worried.

Whenever an aging pitcher sees their fastball lose speed, that makes it hard for them to be reliable out-getters at the Major League level.

But it's not as bad as it seems.

With Romano still working his way back from injury, there is a chance his velocity eventually gets back to what it used to be. And if that does happen, the advanced stats suggest he could return to being a high-level reliever.