Blue Jays non-tender Canadian closer Jordan Romano

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After working in solitude for months in a bid to get healthy and steer his all-star career back on track following surgery, Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano has been unceremoniously let go by the only team he has ever pitched for in the major leagues.

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Even though the news was somewhat expected — Romano is well aware of the way the Jays front office operates and the Toronto Sun reported on Thursday this was likely happening — it was still a gut punch that would have hit Romano hard.

The news that came Friday night couldn’t have been easy for the 31-year-old right-hander, who is coming off surgery to repair an impingement in his right elbow, a procedure that prematurely ended what had been a miserable 2024 season.

Romano made just 15 appearances for the Jays and those limitations in health and in performance were a big reason the team’s bullpen plummeted to one of the worst in MLB.

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But in his heart, Romano felt he had earned the opportunity to prove himself, even if it was going to cost the Jays a projected $7.75 million U.S. for the 2025 season.

It was certainly a lesson in the harsh realities of the business. The Jays strung Romano along until the bitter end, before letting him know he’d no longer be part of the team’s immediate future.

Even with Romano’s struggles in 2024 as he never truly got healthy, his career body of work has been impressive. A two-time American League all star, Romano’s 105 career saves are the third most in franchise history. Battling through a season that both began and ended with him on the injured list, Romano managed just eight saves in 2024 while his ERA leapt to 6.59.

That was certainly the outlier of the recent vintage of Romano, who was a massive fan favourite in Toronto for a number of reasons.

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As a kid growing up in the GTA, Romano regularly attended games at the Rogers Centre dreaming of one day wearing the jersey. Selected by the Jays in the 10th round of the 2014 draft, Romano rose through the minor leagues playing alongside future stars Bo Bichette and Vlad Guerrero Jr. Somewhat of a late bloomer, he made his major league debut for his home town team in 2019 and within two years was the team’s closer.

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It wasn’t just with fans that Romano was revered, either. His teammates were big believers and the personable Canadian was always a popular figure in the Toronto clubhouse. Manager John Schneider, who guided Romano at some of his minor league stops as well as with the Jays, was also a big supporter.

Throughout his 11 seasons with the organization, Romano handled himself with professionalism, making Friday’s development that much more difficult to stomach.

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With one more year to free agency, the Jays are essentially allowing Romano to walk away for nothing. And now he’ll hit the open market for the first time in his career.

By doing so, general manager Ross Atkins also has opened a gaping hole in a decimated bullpen, though the team did announce on Friday that it has avoided arbitration with righty Erik Swanson by signing him to a one-year, $3 million US deal.

As the 8 p.m. deadline passed, the Jays also non-tendered reliever Dillon Tate but tendered all the other remaining arbitration-eligible players.

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Even with the health concerns, Romano’s pedigree is impressive enough that he’s sure to attract attention from other MLB teams. Wherever he lands, Romano will have to pitch his way back to closer status, but he has the potential to be an effective arm at the big league level. Of course that opens up the possibility for Friday’s move to blow up in the face of management should Romano have success elsewhere just as slugger Teoscar Hernandez did with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Romano dismissal, as jarring as it might be, was not seen as a surprise.

A source told the Sun on Thursday that the Jays were headed in this direction, even after Romano had spent much of his off-season working out at the team’s player development complex in Dunedin, Fla.

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From a team perspective, it was clear there was concern as to whether Romano would be able to return to health. A source told the Sun that the Jays had hoped to see Romano in action to determine the strength of the elbow but that did not happen.

Now, a front office that is already facing considerable backlash over the team’s descent into last place in the AL East will take heat for this latest jettisoning of a fan favourite.

That said, Atkins hardly issued a ringing endorsement of Romano’s future with the team at a season-ending press conference.

“I mean, he’s got to come back and be the pitcher (he’s been in the past),” Atkins said. “I don’t want to just lay my head on the pillow and say ‘OK, that’s covered.’ I want to be open to it, depending upon his return, depending on how he’s feeling.”

Instead, the Jays’ first move of significance this off-season has sent one of the team’s most popular players packing.

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