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The Jays had the option of bringing back Romano for another year but instead granted him free agency after an injury-plagued season. Health was initially believed to be a factor, but general manager Ross Atkins recently said he had “no concerns” with Romano’s medicals.

“We were definitely interested and talking to them,” Atkins said of signing Romano at a reduced rate. “He’s had an incredible impact. He is an incredible teammate … A very, very difficult decision, but we’re running a business and every dollar matters, so we made a tough one.”

The Jays decision to non-tender Romano was somewhat surprising because they need to fix their bullpen and $7.75 million was below-market value for a proven closer. The only logical explanation was that the Jays doubted Romano’s ability to bounce back from an elbow injury that limited him to 15 games in 2024.

The Phillies either don’t share those concerns or they’re prepared to assume the risk. Romano will slot into the back end of a bullpen for a team with World Series aspirations. The Markham product was one of the more reliable relievers in baseball before last season with a 2.37 ERA from 2021-23, when he was second in the American League with 95 saves.

The Jays only have three relievers under contract who are expected to crack next year’s bullpen: veteran Chad Green, right-hander Erik Swanson and lefty Brendon Little.

Left-hander Tanner Scott is considered to be the top reliever available, but he is looking for a long-term deal with an average annual salary that far exceeds the one Romano was set to earn in Toronto. Some of the other top options include Jeff Hoffman, Kenley Jansen and Carlos Estevez.

“In an ideal world we have some defined roles, but that’s a 60-40 (per cent) thing, not an 80-20,” Atkins said when asked if he was looking to add a traditional closer. “Acquiring someone who is going to be predominantly closing is a very good outcome for us, that we would prefer, but we don’t have to do it that way.”

The Jays are coming off a season in which their bullpen posted an AL-high 4.82 ERA. They have since lost Romano and left-hander Genesis Cabrera from that group.