Former Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano signs one-year deal with Phillies

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After being non-tendered by the Blue Jays last month, the team’s former Canadian closer will take his reliever act to the City of Brotherly Love.

Jordan Romano, who was not offered a deal by the Jays following a 2024 season that was drastically limited due to an elbow injury and late-season surgery, has landed on his feet with the biggest contract of his career.

Multiple reports out of the Winter Meetings in Dallas, Tex., confirm that the Markham. Ont., native has signed a one-year, $8.5 million US deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.

According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the deal will also include a $500,00 bonus if he pitches a minimum of 60 innings. The contract is a nice raise for Romano, who was projected to earn about $7.75 million in arbitration before Jays general manager Ross Atkins decided to walk away from a player the team drafted and developed.

The new locale will certainly be an easy one logically for the two-time all star, who winters in the Tampa area in the off-season. The Phillies’ spring training home is in Clearwater, Fla., not far from the Blue Jays’ facility in Dunedin.

Whether it was health or performance concerns, the Jays decided to move on from the 31-year-old Romano after a 2024 season that he both began and finished on the injured list. His 105 saves are the third-most in franchise history.

Interestingly, in a recent meeting with the Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America, Jays GM Ross Atkins said that the team had “no medical concerns” about Romano.

The Jays, of course, are in major need of bullpen help, given the depleted state following a season of struggle for the team’s relievers.