Phillies' Jordan Romano's season goes from bad to worse in loss to Mets

Over his last four appearances, Romano has an incomprehensible 42.86 earned run average (ERA), allowing 10 earned runs in 2.1 innings. After Monday's outing, Romano has an 8.23 ERA this season. The Athletic Phillies beat writer Matt Gelb noted that's the highest ERA by a Phillies pitcher with at least 40 innings pitched since Reggie Grabowski recorded a 9.23 ERA in 1934.

The Phillies signed Romano to a one-year, $8.5 million contract on December 9, 2024. After making consecutive All-Star Game appearances with the Toronto Blue Jays from 2022-23, Romano struggled last season before undergoing season-ending elbow surgery in July 2024.

He got off to a rocky start in Philadelphia, blowing a save in his first appearance and ending April with a 12.19 ERA. Things haven't gone much better in the months since.

After being signed, Phillies manager Rob Thomson discussed Romano's potential usage, saying, "There were no promises, other than [high] leverage," per MLB.com.

He's largely struggled in those situations this season, which made Monday's appearance — with the Phils down three — an opportunity to find a groove in a setting with lower stakes.

After falling flat once again, however, it's nearly impossible to imagine a spot where Thompson should trust his struggling reliever.

As much success as the Phillies (76-55) have had this season, their relief staff carries some concern.

Philadelphia has a trio (Tanner Banks, Orion Kerkering, Matt Strahm) of reliable arms out of the bullpen, but is otherwise lacking solid options. Per FanGraphs data, the Phillies entered Monday ranked No. 24 in bullpen ERA (4.31). After combining to allow seven earned runs over 2.1 innings against the Mets, that number will only go up.

Despite whiffing on Romano's free-agent deal, Philadelphia still holds a comfortable six-game lead over New York in the NL East. Well, maybe not too comfortable. When it comes to the Phillies' bullpen, no lead is safe.