Blue Jays finally provide Jordan Romano update and he won’t be back anytime soon

The closer's season hangs in the balance after the latest disappointing news.

Michael Fisher

Toronto Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery and will be shut down for six weeks. / Mark Blinch/GettyImages

It's been a season to forget for Toronto Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano, and, unfortunately, the news got worse for the right-hander on Wednesday. Well into his second stint on the injured list this season, his absence has been extended with no promise of a return.

As MLB.com's Keegan Matheson reports, Romano underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow to repair an impingement.

Blue Jays finally provide Jordan Romano update and he won’t be back anytime soon

According to Matheson, the 31-year-old will be shut down from throwing for at least six weeks. While that timeline indicates that he could possibly resume throwing in mid-August, a return to game action would require a longer build-up from there. Apparently, the team hasn't indicated whether he will even be able to return to the mound this season.

After being a reliable ninth-inning presence at the backend of the Toronto bullpen, logging 95 saves for the Blue Jays from 2021 to 2023, it doesn't sound like Romano will have much of a chance to add on to the eight saves he put up in his six weeks of action this season.

Romano began the year on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation and missed the first couple of weeks of the campaign. He returned to the bullpen in mid-April but didn't look like himself. While he registered his eight saves in nine opportunities, he posted a 6.59 ERA and 1.46 WHIP — both easily his worst career numbers since his rookie season — in 15 appearances.

He returned to the IL at the end of May, again with right elbow inflammation. The saga continued when he suffered a setback on June 22 during a long toss session. After feeling soreness in his elbow, Romano visited Dr. Keith Meister, and here we are.

It looks like this latest update could spell the end of the Markham native's season, meaning we may have seen the last of him closing out games for the Blue Jays in 2024.

Despite the bad news, there's a silver lining for Jays fans. With Romano out of commission until well after the July 30 trade deadline, he's a sure bet to survive the upcoming deadline activity and remain with the Blue Jays into the final year of his contract in 2025 — unless he gets traded in the offseason.

Michael Fisher

Michael Fisher is the editor at That Ball's Outta Here on the FanSided network, a position he has held since September 2023. He has written over 500 articles for That Ball’s Outta Here. He has been a baseball fan since 1990 and became a Philadelphia Phillies fan in the early 2000s. Michael has been writing for FanSided since 2022 when he started as a writer at Jays Journal. He also spent over a year writing about MLB at FanSided.com. Michael enjoys camping and playing tennis and badminton in his free time.