The New York Yankees have spent the early part of the offseason watching relief arms fly off the board, but general manager Brian Cashman might be zeroing in on a trade target that fits the Yankee Stadium blueprint perfectly.
According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Yankees are eyeing Cardinals left-hander JoJo Romero, a 29-year-old reliever who quietly put together a dominant campaign last season. While he isn’t a household name like the closers signing nine-figure deals, Romero offers the kind of specific skill set that plays beautifully in the Bronx.
Romero posted a sparkling 2.07 ERA over 61 innings last year, establishing himself as a reliable high-leverage arm in a St. Louis bullpen that saw its fair share of turnover. He isn’t just a “lefty specialist” in the traditional sense; he is a soft-contact merchant who keeps the ball on the ground and in the yard.
For a Yankees team that constantly fears the short porch in right field, acquiring a pitcher who suppresses fly balls at an elite rate is just smart business.
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The Metric That Should Make Matt Blake Salivate
What makes Romero such an intriguing target for pitching coach Matt Blake is his ability to kill rallies before they start by forcing grounders. Last season, Romero boasted a 54.5% ground ball rate, ranking in the 95th percentile across Major League Baseball, while sitting in the 91st percentile for average exit velocity. He simply does not allow hitters to square him up, a trait that is invaluable when navigating the heavy-hitting lineups of the American League East.
His arsenal is built around a sinker-slider-changeup mix that keeps batters guessing and off-balance. The slider, in particular, was a devastating weapon last year, limiting opponents to a microscopic .181 batting average and generating weak contact seemingly at will. When you combine that whiff potential with a sinker that bores in on hitters’ hands, you have a recipe for sustaining success that goes beyond just getting lucky with batted balls.
More Than Just a LOOGY
In an era where the three-batter minimum rule has effectively killed the “Lefty One Out Guy,” relievers need to be able to handle both sides of the plate, and Romero passes that test. While he was dominant against left-handed batters, holding them to a .211 average, he was nearly as effective against righties, limiting them to a .220 mark. This versatility allows Aaron Boone to deploy him in clean innings rather than trying to micromanage matchups in the seventh or eighth inning.
However, the one red flag in Romero’s profile is a lack of command that occasionally gets him into trouble. He walked 11.4% of the batters he faced last season, a number that will undoubtedly raise the blood pressure of Yankees fans who are tired of free passes. Yet, his ability to induce double plays with that elite ground ball rate often bails him out of the jams he creates for himself.
Looking Ahead: A Trade That Fits the Timeline
Romero is under team control through the 2026 season before hitting free agency in 2027, making him a rental for the upcoming campaign. The Cardinals are in a retooling phase and could be willing to part with a bullpen asset for prospects, giving Cashman a chance to bolster the relief corps without touching the major league roster.
If the Yankees don’t strike a deal now, Romero is absolutely a name to circle as the trade deadline approaches next summer. But waiting often means paying a higher price, and with the bullpen needing stability immediately, bringing in a ground-ball artist like Romero sooner rather than later feels like the prudent move.