Blue Jays could jump on Cardinals sell-off by acquiring shutdown reliever 

The St. Louis Cardinals have been occupied with the massive sell-off of many of their key pieces to their roster this offseason. Gone already via trades this winter were Cardinals’ ace Sonny Gray, three-time All-Star catcher Willson Contreras, a potential future Hall of Famer in Nolan Arenado, and most recently star utilityman Brendan Donovan.

With the St. Louis fire sale not looking to end any time soon, the Toronto Blue Jays could jump in on the trade action and call upon their old trade partner about the services of JoJo Romero. After all, the Blue Jays were recently named as the best fit for the Cardinals’ closer in an article on SI Cardinals.

Blue Jays could jump on Cardinals sell-off by acquiring shutdown reliever 

Romero is coming off his best season of his six-year MLB career with St. Louis last year. The 29-year-old left-hander posted a 4-6 record with a 2.07 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, giving up just 14 earned runs all year along with 55 strikeouts in 61 innings pitched over 65 relief appearances.

More importantly, he effectively handled the Cardinals’ closer role after teammate Ryan Helsley was dealt at the 2025 trade deadline. In doing so, Romero registered eight saves, with a tidy 2.10 ERA while striking out 20 in 25.2 total innings during the final two months of the season.

Romero may have struggled to start his MLB career during his time with the Philadelphia Phillies between 2020 to 2022. But he has since settled in nicely as a reliable, effective reliever since joining the Cardinals at the 2022 trade deadline in a deal that sent infielder Edmundo Sosa to the Phillies. In 172 career games with St. Louis, Romero has compiled a 15-11 record, 3.00 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, together with 164 strikeouts in 171 innings of work. 

In addition, he would give the Blue Jays their undisputed No. 1 lefty option coming out of the bullpen, something that they haven’t had since Tim Mayza during his breakout campaign with the Blue Jays in 2023. Moreover, with Romero’s success as a closer down the stretch in 2025, it gives Toronto a safety net if Jeff Hoffman were to struggle once again this coming season in the role.

After all, Hoffman was among the league leaders in home runs given up by a reliever with 15 last year, as compared to the measly two long balls given up by Romero all season with almost the same workload as the Blue Jays closer.

As a result, the Blue Jays should pounce on the prime opportunity right now while the Cardinals are still reeling with their deals prior to the start of the 2026 MLB season. Toronto had grabbed valuable bullpen pieces in Génesis Cabrera and Jordan Hicks from St. Louis before via trades, so it may be time to rekindle with their old trade partner for another key piece to fit in their contending puzzle.