Sal Romano

Sal Romano

31-Year-Old PitcherP
 Free Agent  
2024 Fantasy Outlook
There was no outlook written for Sal Romano in 2024. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#361
ADP
$Signed a one-year, minor-league contract with the Red Sox in April of 2024. Released by the Red Sox in July of 2024.
Gets minors deal from Boston
PBoston Red Sox  
April 26, 2024
The Red Sox signed Romano to a minor-league contract Friday.
ANALYSIS
Romano has been assigned to Triple-A Worcester and could be used as both a starter and reliever. The 30-year-old split time between the rotation and bullpen in independent ball last year, and he last appeared in the majors in 2021.
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Pitching Stats
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2020
2019
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2017
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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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2018 MLB Game Log
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2017 MLB Game Log
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
Players like Romano really got hurt by the lack of a minor league season in 2020. He lost his spot on the 40-man roster in spring training, but was invited to the Reds' alternate training site when action resumed in July. He spent most of the season there, pitching only 1.1 innings in relief upon getting called up in September. Romano resides on the very edge of the Reds' 40-man roster currently, perhaps first to go if they try to improve their roster from outside the organization.
Gone are the days when the Reds needed to eat innings with the likes of Romano in their starting rotation. Now their rotation is actually a strength, so Romano is a first-man-out-of-the-bullpen type. He throws hard (96 mph average fastball), but he hasn't been getting the results even with the transition to the bullpen. Romano struggles the most with his fastball, both when it's a sinker or his less-frequently-thrown four-seamer. Cincinnati has not made any major bullpen additions this offseason and Romano is out of minor-league options, but regardless, Romano appears on the roster bubble heading into spring training.
The big concern about Romano going into the 2018 season was his inability to strike batters out despite a big fastball, and that problem simply got exacerbated when he lost 1.1 mph off his average fastball in 2018. His strikeout rate dropped along with his velo, from 7.5 K/9 to 6.5 last year. Instead of thinking he might still develop into a reliable starter, we're more comfortable saying he's cannon fodder for the Reds until they're ready to compete. Unfortunately, they've been in that mode for a while now. They have an offense that could be competitive, if they could ever develop a rotation. A new coaching staff might help, but new pitchers might help more. A good barometer of whether the Reds are ready to take the next step is whether Romano is still in their rotation.
For a pitcher that throws as hard as Romano does, his strikeout rate has always been underwhelming and 2017 provided another good example - he struck out 7.6 batters per nine innings, a mark he's significantly topped only once in his minor-league career. The reason for this -- and often the reason that other flamethrowers struggle to put away opposing hitters -- is the lack of a good third pitch. Romano relies heavily upon his fastball and has a decent slider, but his changeup and curveball have often been lacking throughout his career. A corollary to Romano's package is that he consistently has a higher BABIP and underperforms metrics like FIP and xFIP. In fact, at every single professional level, Romano's ERA has been higher than his FIP. Because he can't miss bats, Romano is consistently nibbling, hoping to induce weak contact. He'll be at the fringe of the Reds' rotation again in 2018.
Romano was sent to repeat the Double-A level after a rough showing in Pensacola the year before, and he responded well to the assignment. In his age-22 season, Romano amassed 156 innings in 27 starts while producing a strong 3.52 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. His workload wasn't the only impressive part, as he also managed to put up a 144:34 K:BB in that span while allowing just 0.6 home runs per nine innings. The scary part is that his peripherals suggest that his numbers could've been even better; his FIP sat nearly 60 points below his ERA (2.94) and the BABIP opposing hitters produced against him sat at an unsustainably-high .332 mark. With an arsenal that features a mid-90s sinking fastball to go with a developing curveball and changeup, Romano has the dealings to make the leap to Triple-A next season and potentially reach the big leagues by late 2017 or early 2018.
More Fantasy News
Beginning season at Triple-A
PSeattle Mariners  
April 2, 2022
Romano was assigned to minor-league camp Saturday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
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Joins M's on MiLB deal
PSeattle Mariners  
March 22, 2022
Romano agreed Tuesday with the Mariners on a minor-league contract, Corey Brock of The Athletic reports.
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Cut loose by Yanks
PFree Agent  
Finger
September 20, 2021
The Yankees released Romano (finger) on Monday.
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IL bound with finger sprain
PNew York Yankees  
Finger
September 17, 2021
Romano was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday with a right index finger sprain, retroactive to Wednesday.
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Injures hand, X-rays negative
PNew York Yankees  
Hand
September 15, 2021
Romano took a line drive off his right hand in the ninth inning of Tuesday's win against Baltimore and was forced to exit the game. Manager Aaron Boone indicated after the contest that X-rays were negative and that Romano is expected to be evaluated on a day-to-day basis, MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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