Jordan Romano's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

While Toronto Blue Jays reliever Erik Swanson (forearm) played catch in camp on Thursday and felt good, closer Jordan Romano (elbow) is still a day or two away from throwing. The Blue Jays are expected to make decisions on their availability for the beginning of the 2024 regular season by Monday. Opening Day is next Thursday, March 28. If neither Romano nor Swanson are ready to go by the end of next week, Yimi Garcia figures to be first in line to pick up save chances at the back end of Toronto's bullpen to begin the year. Romano, 30, is RotoBaller's No. 15 fantasy closer, but he was recently shut down after being diagnosed with right-elbow inflammation. The good news is that Romano doesn't have structural damage in his arm, but there's added risk in taking him in fantasy drafts this weekend.

Toronto Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano is dealing with inflammation in his elbow. The 30-year-old had an MRI done and it showed no structural damage, so at this point it doesn't appear to be serious. The 2x All-Star will receive an anti-inflammatory injection Tuesday and will be shut down for three days, but will then "ramp back up." As the injury is to his throwing arm it should be monitored, but being ready for the start of the regular season still seems to be intact. If it doesn't get better, then veteran Erik Swanson theoretically would be next in line for save opportunities, however, he too has been shut down for a couple of days. Romano is a top-10 closer option so hopefully this is a non-issue by the end of the week.

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Jordan Romano has enjoyed a nice spring to this point as he prepares for the 2024 campaign. The right-hander has worked in five games so far, tossing a 2.08 ERA with six strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings of action. He has walked two hitters while limiting the opposition to a minuscule .133 batting average. The veteran is coming off another stellar season in which he worked to a 2.90 ERA with 36 saves across 59 innings of work. He has posted a sub-3.00 ERA in four straight seasons and has locked down 36 saves in each of his last two campaigns. He remains a high-end closer ahead of the 2024 season and is a candidate to pace the American League in saves in the process.

The Toronto Blue Jays and right-handed reliever Jordan Romano avoided salary arbitration on Thursday by settling at $7.75 million for the 2024 season, according to a source. This was Romano's second time being eligible for arbitration. The 30-year-old closer has had exactly 36 saves for the Blue Jays in each of the last two seasons and will open the 2024 campaign cemented into that role again, giving him plenty of fantasy appeal. The Canadian reliever had some ups and downs along the way in 2023, but he was solid overall and at one point converted a franchise-record 26 saves in a row. A back injury at the All-Star break may have been responsible for him not being as effective down the stretch. Still, Romano's ability to miss bats and set role as a closer for one of the better teams in baseball makes him a high-end fantasy target at his position.