Blue Jays: Despite recent struggles, Romano still has leash left

Jordan Romano has quietly struggled over the last few weeks, but the Blue Jays will likely give him plenty of leash to get things back on track.

Over the last nine outings from the right-hander he has allowed eight earned runs on 11 hits and four walks, also giving up five home runs in the process. Cleveland hit a pair of long balls against him in the ninth inning on Thursday night, but fortunately the fireballer was able to settle down in time to finish off the inning and secure the victory.

Despite the fact that Ross Atkins and the front office did a pretty significant overhaul to the bullpen, I would argue that Romano is still the best choice to pitch the ninth inning, at least for the time being. He was absolutely dominant in June when he didn’t allow an earned run all month long, and he also posted a 0.692 WHIP in May. He’s had some more recent hiccups, but he’s pretty clearly been the most reliable reliever in the bullpen to this point of the season.

Still, his shaky recent performance might have opened the door for someone else to get a chance to pitch in a save situation, but the most obvious candidates for the job aren’t exactly banging down the door to take over. Newly acquired southpaw Brad Hand has 126 saves on his resume throughout the course of his career, but he’s really struggled over his most recent outings as well, which started before the trade to Toronto and has continued since. Over his last seven appearances the veteran has a 11.57 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP over just 4.2 innings. I’m sure the former Washington National will need at least a few solid outings before he’ll earn that kind of high-leverage situation from his new manager.

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Joakim Soria has 229 career saves on his resume, and he liked good in his Blue Jays debut earlier this week. Unfortunately he’s not an option for the immediate term either though, as he hit the Injured List on Wednesday with finger inflammation on his pitching hand. The IL stint is retroactive to Aug 3rd though, so hopefully he’ll just be on the sidelines for a minimum stay.

The two relievers that are arguably throwing the ball the best right now are Adam Cimber and Tim Mayza, and it’s possible that Charlie Montoyo could hand either of them the ball in the ninth to give Romano a breather. Cimber has been nearly untouchable since he joined the Blue Jays, posting a 0.68 ERA and a 0.53 WHIP over 13.1 innings. Still, he doesn’t have the typical stuff that you see from most closers, and I think he’s best suited to pitch somewhere between the 6th and 8th inning. As for Mayza, he has a 1.23 ERA and a 0.55 WHIP over his last 15 appearances, but he has an important role as the most trusted left-hander at the moment.

When I look at the season as a whole, and consider the variables like the other options to replace Romano in the ninth, I doubt that Montoyo is looking to make a change at the moment. The Canadian still has a 2.82 ERA over the course of 39 outings, and as I’ve already said, he’s been easily the most reliable option for his skipper to turn to throughout the year. That kind of trust doesn’t just evaporate, even with some shiny new options to choose from.

All that being said, the Blue Jays will need Romano to find the form that made him so dominant in May and June, or they may have to shuffle the bullpen at some point as they look to chase down a ticket to the postseason. For now though, he’s still throwing the ball well (he hit triple digits again on Wednesday night) and I’m guessing he’ll get the first save opportunity with the Blue Jays welcome Boston to town this weekend.