The Blue Jays have played in more one-run games than any team in Major League Baseball and while that experience should prove valuable late in the year, it’s also taking a toll on closer Jordan Romano.
Romano received a team-mandated night off Wednesday — not that he would have been needed anyway, in a 7-1 loss to the Red Sox — following a stretch that saw him either pitch or warm up in five out of the last six games. He entered play with an MLB-high 10 appearances and was tied for ninth among relievers with 9 1/3 innings pitched.
The 29-year-old has eight saves and a win on his resumé, playing a key role in more than half of the Jays’ games this season. He’s come through on all but one of those occasions, but if the club wants his success to continue some changes must be made, because a workload this high isn’t sustainable for much longer.
“Every time he comes in, it’s high leverage; that takes a toll,” Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said when asked about Romano’s innings. “I’ve seen it, but yes, we’re watching that. Give him credit. He’ll take the ball every time. He’s not the one to tell you, ‘I need a day.’ I haven’t heard that from him in two years, the whole time I’ve known.”
That’s where the Jays must be careful. While it’s admirable that Romano does whatever he can to be available each night, that competitive nature means there are going to be times when he needs to be saved from himself: such as Wednesday against Boston, where Romano arrives at the Rogers Centre, says he’s OK to pitch and the Jays simply say no.
Before every game, Montoyo is handed a colour-coded sheet of paper that lets him know the status of his relievers. Green means good to go; yellow is preferably not, but available if necessary; orange is only for emergencies; and red is a hard no, regardless of what happens. The colours are based on recent workload, and there are conversations before every game with the yellow and orange pitchers to double-check their status.
Romano has been in the yellow and orange categories a lot this season, yet whenever he’s approached by pitching coach Pete Walker, he’ll give the thumbs up. And with the Jays having played eight games already that have been decided by one run, there have been times when Montoyo couldn’t resist sending him out there.
“It’s a lot of work just to keep it going, honestly,” Romano admitted while talking by his locker in the Jays clubhouse. “The training staff is doing a great job, the weight room, the guys in there — it’s a team effort. I’m in the training room a lot, in the weight room a lot, just to be able to throw every day, you know what I mean? But the body’s built to work.
“It’s knowing the body and if I need a day, I’ll say something. But we all monitor it. I wear a tracking system that shows how much I’m throwing and stuff. So that helps. If I need a day, I need a day, but I don’t like taking too many days off.”
That’s all fine and good for April. Relievers can handle full workloads earlier than starters because they only pitch in short stints. Romano has yet to appear in games on three consecutive days, and he’s only made two back-to-back appearances, neither of which raises alarms. If one were to focus just on the last couple days of any given week, he would be in the clear.
The view from 30,000 feet tells a different story, because there’s a cumulative effect and Romano’s on pace to appear in 86 games. For comparison, he made 62 appearances last season and there were times when even that seemed like too many. Despite the success, which has seen Romano allow just two earned runs while striking out 11 and issuing a pair of walks, it’s a trend that can’t keep up much longer.
Just don’t expect the affable Romano to complain about any of this. He’s arriving at the ballpark every day with a chance to be a factor. It’s the type of responsibility every reliever craves, even though regular rest would be much more beneficial to their season and career.
“It has been a pretty fun experience,” Romano said. “Usually when I’m going in there, pretty tight games and the last couple I came in with a runner on second. That experience is kind of cool, getting more comfortable with that. It’s just fun to be out there in those tight, tight spots.”
Unlike a year ago, the Jays bullpen hasn’t been overworked with 72 innings entering Wednesday, which sat 13th overall in MLB. The bigger issue is that most of those innings are being pitched by the top relievers because the Jays haven’t been winning or losing by enough runs.
Behind Romano’s league-high 10 appearances are Yimi García, Trevor Richards and Julian Merryweather at nine, while Adam Cimber and Tim Mayza have eight. The workload is concerning, not only for the closer but every single high-leverage reliever Montoyo has at his disposal.
What the Jays want to avoid is pitching these guys into the ground.
Romano’s velocity has been down ever so slightly this season, with his fastball averaging 96.4 m.p.h. instead of last year’s 97.6. If he keeps pitching this often, it’s bound to drop even more.
The Jays have been thriving with a 6-2 record in one-run games. That has been exhilarating for a fan base that craves a contender. But if this team is going to make it to October, something must give, because it’s not realistic to expect Romano and the other top arms to keep pitching this often without severe repercussions.
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