Sergio Romo

At 41 years old, Sergio Romo has this physical status:

Sergio Francisco Romo (born March 4, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins.

He has also played for the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Miami Marlins in Major League Baseball (MLB). He made three saves in the 2012 World Series as a closer for the Giants, helping the Giants win the championship.

He made saves in the clinching games of the NL Division Series and the World Series during the playoffs.

Early life

Romo was born in Brawley, California, to parents of Mexican descent. He grew up to be a Los Angeles Dodgers fan. His grandfather and father both played baseball; his grandfather was a member of the Mexico City Diablos Rojos. Frank, a semipro player, wanted to make sure his son had the opportunity to play Minor League Baseball. Sergio built Sergio a pitching mound in the backyard and taught him how to throw. Romo played shortstop and third base on the baseball team at Brawley Union High School, graduating in 2001. Romo almost signed enlistment papers to join his father in the United States Navy, but he instead chose baseball at junior college.

Personal life

Before entering the major leagues, Romo married his now ex-wife Chelsea. In January 2006, the couple had their first child, a boy named Rilen. Rex was born in September 2011 and Rhys' third son Rhys was born in August 2015.

Romo has a number of tattoos and estimates that he has spent more than 60 hours in tattoo parlors in his lifetime.

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College career

Romo went to Orange Coast College before moving to Arizona Western College. In 2002 and 2003, Romo was appointed to the All-Region II second team of the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference. Romo set a 16-4 overall record in 159 innings with a 2.79 earned run average (ERA).

Romo played NCAA Division II baseball at two universities, University of North Alabama (2004) and Mesa State College (2005). He was named First-Team All-Gulf South Conference in 2004 while playing for North Alabama and was 10–3 with a 3.69 ERA in 97.1 innings. He was the Rocky Mountain Conference Pitcher of the Year in his senior year with Mesa State.

Professional career

Romo was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 28th round (852nd overall) of the 2005 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. He started his professional career with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes of the Single-A Short Season Northwest League, where he began his career. In 68+2/3 innings, he had a 7–1 record and a 2.75 ERA as a starter. His seven victories led the Northwest League, while his 65 strikeouts ranked ninth.

Romo was drafted into the Augusta GreenJackets of the Single-A South Atlantic League the following year. He had a 102-two record, a 2.53 ERA, 95 strikeouts, and four saves in 103+2 innings in 31 games (including three starts). In 2007, he made 41 relief appearances for the San Jose Giants of the Single-Academic California League, tying a 6–2 record, 106 strikeouts, and nine saves in 66+13 innings of work. Romo's 14.38 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched was the fourth-best record in the minors, according to milb.com, who named Romo as the Year's Outstanding Relief Pitcher of the Year. San Jose took the California League championship due to his efforts.

Romo debuted with the Double-A Connecticut Defenders of the Eastern League in 2008. He had 11 saves in 27 games as the closer, and his ERA was 4.00.

When Vinnie Chulk was designated for assignment, Romo had his contract with the San Francisco Giants on June 24, 2008. In a 4–1 loss to the Cleveland Indians on June 26, 2008, he made his big league debut, striking out two out two runs in an inning pitch. Romo had a 2.35 ERA in his first 15 games in his first 15 games, but was suspended for assignment on August 6 because the Giants were adding up two relief pitchers. Romo was on trade waivers at the time, and therefore could not be offered to the minors. He was eventually sent to the minors, but Jonathan Sánchez was recalling him on August 16, when he was placed on the disabled list. As Palmer took Sánchez's rotation job, Romo put Matt Palmer in the bullpen. Romo had a 3–1 record, a 2.12 ERA, 33 strikeouts, and eight walks in 34 innings as a rookie. He played winter baseball with the Mexican Pacific League's Guilleras de Mexicali. Romo made six saves and had a 2.70 ERA in 15 relief appearances.

Romo's 2009 season was the first on the disabled list, but he was activated on May 30, 2009. He batted 7+2/3 scoreless innings from June 5 to June 20, giving just two hits. He won on both June 19 and 20 against the Texas Rangers. On July 7, the Florida Marlins made his first big league save. He had to cancel the game for the first two reasons, both of which were due to the strikeout. Romo had a 2.31 ERA through July 11, but in four games between July 11 and 20, he gave up seven runs in two innings, bringing his overall ERA to 6.59. In his last 27 games, he had a 2.21 ERA, which reduced his ERA to 3.97 at the end of the year. In 45 games, he had a 5–2 record, 41 strikeouts, and 11 walks in 34 innings. He was one of eight NL relievers to have one or two home runs. Romo left 92 percent of inherited runners, second in the Netherlands to Juan Rincón's 95%.

Romo got off to a slow start to the 2010 season by posting a 4.50 ERA in his first 14 games and losing three of them. In his final 54 games of the year, starting May 9, he had a 1.50 ERA. Giants' boss Bruce Bochy sacked Guillermo Mota from the setup job in mid-June and replaced him with Romo, who stayed with him for the remainder of the season. Romo, alongside LHP Jeremy Affeldt and closer Brian Wilson, gained notoriety for being one of the team's relief pitchers with a prominent beard. Romo had a 5–3 record, a 2.18 ERA, 70 strikeouts, and 14 walks in 62 innings in 68 games (second to Wilson on the Giants). He held right-handed batters to a.185 average this year. His 5.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranked sixth among NL relievers, and his 2.18 ERA ranked 10th, ranking sixth.

Romo gave up two hits without recording an outburst in Game 2 of the National League Division Series (NLDS), beating the Atlanta Braves; both players scored as the Giants went on to blow a three-run lead and lose 5–4 in 11 innings. In Game 3's eighth innings, Romo activated Sánchez and gave Eric Hinske a go-ahead two-run home run, but the Giants won 3–2. In four games, the Giants won the series. Romo gave up an RBI double to Jayson Werth and was charged with a blown save in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series (NLCS) against the Philadelphia Phillies, but the Giants defeated 6–5. In his other two outings of the series (losses in Games 2 and 5,) the Phillies had a scoreless record, while the Giants won the series in six games. Romo made one appearance in the World Series against the Texas Rangers, conceding 2nd in the Giants' 11-7 victory after a scoreless eighth inning. The Giants won their first title since 1954, with Romo winning his first World Series ring.

Romo was the fifth reliever in MLB history to throw nine or more perfect innings in a row from July 4 to August 6, defeating thirty straight batters in ten innings over a span of 14 games from July 4 to August 6. From August 16 to August 28, he was on the disabled list for right elbow inflammation. He had the longest scoreless streak of his career from June 30 to September 23, hitting 21+239 runs in 26 innings. Romo played in 65 games in 2011; his year-long record stood at 3–1, 4.8 km/9, 5 walks, 13.1 K/9, and a 0.9 BB/9.9 innings was in 48 innings. His ERA was the third lowest among NL relievers, and his strike out-to-walk ratio of 14:1 was the highest in MLB and the highest since Dennis Eckersley's 19.25:1 ratio in 1990. He left 88% of runners (fifth in the Netherlands) stranded, leaving Kris Medlen second in strike percentage (71%) among NL pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched.

Romo did a good job to start the 2012 season but did not allow an earned run until May 17, 2012. Santiago Casilla was given the greater role after Brian Wilson underwent Tommy John surgery in April. Casilla converted 20 of his first 21 save opportunities, but the dynamo broke five of his next nine save opportunities, posting a 7.71 ERA from June 23 to August 7. Bochy announced on August 7 that the Giants would use a "bullpen by committee" tactic, with Romo, Javier López, and Jeremy Affeldt pitching the final two innings of close games, depending on which hitters they will be facing. Romo and López had the most save chances, but Affeldt had only one save since that time. Romo converted nine out of nine save opportunities from then to the end of the season, achieving a 1.33 ERA. Romo played in 69 games during the 2012 season, racking up to 14 saves with a 1.79 ERA, fourth among NL relievers and trailing Craig Kimbrel (1.01) and Eric O'Flaherty (1.73). Despite being the year's Setup Man of the Year, he was recognized by the Gibby Award for being the MLB's Setup Man of the Year. The Giants won the NL West; in the NLDS against the Cincinnati Reds, Romo appeared in three games, winning Game 3 and saving Game 5. In the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals, he played in all four of the Giants' victories, but he didn't have a single save opportunity. However, in the World Series against the Detroit Tigers, he made three appearances and made the save in each of them. He pitched the last inning of the deciding Game 4 and beat the Giants in the final out and forth. Romo had three perfect innings and had five strikeouts in the World Series.

Romo and the Giants agreed to a two-year, $9 million contract in February 2013. Romo was the Giants' closer during the 2013 season. In April, he had 10 saves in the Giants' second month, second in Giants' history, to Rod Beck (11). After Jeff Locke and Jordan Zimmermann got off and became ineligible to pitch on Sunday, he was added to the NL All Star Game roster on July 14. It was his first All-Star pick of his career. Romo was also not used in the All-Star Game, but not for the All-Star Game. Romo converted all nine of his save opportunities in August. Romo had a 2.54 earned run average and 38 saves in 43 chances in 43 games last season, having appeared in 65 games. He had a career-high five wins but had also suffered to a career-high eight losses. With Chapman, he became the sixth Giant to reach 30 saves in a season, placing him third in the league, behind Kimbrel's 50 and Rafael Soriano's 43.

Romo started the 2014 season off with a 1.65 ERA and 12 saves as of May 9. Romo, on the other hand, failed after that, with five blow saves and a 9.00 ERA from May 9 to June 30. On that day, Romo was officially dismissed from his closer role, with the Giants announcing their decision to switch to a closer-by-committee. Romo, who was the eighth inning setup guy for the remainder of the season, appeared 30 times after July 1 and had a 2.10 ERA over 25+228 runs with 32 strikeouts and 5 walks. He ended the year 6–4 with a 3.72 ERA, 59 strikeouts in 58 innings, and 12 walks over 64 games. He was 23 for 28 years old when he was looking for a job in saves. Romo batted three scoreless innings over three games against the Washington Nationals in the 2014 NLDS. After allowing Kolten Wong a game-ending home run in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Cardinals, he lost Game 2 of the NLCS. The Giants won in extra innings, with Matt Holliday returning to win in Game 3 by retiring Matt Holliday. Romo appeared in two games, pitching 213 innings with four strikeouts and no runs allowed, winning his third World Series title with the Giants. Romo and the Giants announced a two-year deal worth $15 million on December 22, 2014.

He spent the 2015 season as Casilla's eighth-inning setup man, who had regained the closer role. Romo had a 1.15 ERA in the second half of the season after posting a 5.19 ERA before the All-Star break. Between July 11 and August 21, he did not allow a run over 14 innings. In the eighth inning of a 2–0 victory over the Cardinals, he struck out all three batters he faced. He had a 0-5 record, two saves, a 2.98 ERA, and 71 strikeouts in 57+13 innings pitched in 70 games.

Romo played in just four games in 2016 before being placed on the disabled list on April 15 (retroactive to April 11) with a strained right flexor tendon. Despite being on a rehabilitation program in late May, there were setbacks in his recovery, and he was not activated from the disabled list until July 4. Romo pitched in his 500th game in his career, losing 4–3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 30, at AT&T Park. Bochy pulled the struggling Casilla from the spotlight on September 19. Though he rated Hunter Strickland and Derek Law as the pitchers with a chance to save money, Romo would be the one to save in four of the Giants' final 12 games. He had a 1–0 record, four saves, a 2.64 ERA, and 33 strikeouts in 30+2/3 innings in 40 games. The Giants advanced to the playoffs for the fourth time during Romo's time with them, winning the National Wild Card Game against the New York Mets. Romo was called on to save Game 3 of the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs by a score of 5–3. He led off the batter but then gave up a game-tying home run to Kris Bryant. However, the Giants won 6–5 in 13 innings. In Game 4, he relieved López with two runners on the ninth and nobody was out. Ben Zobrist had an RBI double against him, and Romo was replaced on the mound by Will Smith. Zobrist scored later, and the Cubs won 6–5, effectively excluding the Giants from the playoffs. Romo became a free agent after the season.

Romo signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Dodgers on February 15, 2017. "We had one of the best bullpens in baseball last year, but unselfishness lends itself to unselfishness," manager Dave Roberts said of the signing. "Sergio is definitely up for it," says the author. A lot of times the eighth inning is off, but he's up for anything." He had a 6.12 ERA in 25 innings for the Dodgers in 30 games before being asked for assignment on July 20.

Romo was traded by the Tampa Bay Rays to the Tampa Bay Rays on July 22, 2017 for cash considerations or a player to be announced later. He spent the remainder of the season in Tampa Bay's bullpen, averaging 2–0 record and a 1.47 ERA in 25 games. He had a 3–1 record, no saves, a 3.56 ERA, and 59 strikeouts in 55 games combined, including Los Angeles and Tampa Bay. He became a free agent after the season.

On February 13, 2018, Romo re-signed with the Rays on a one-year, $2.5 million deal. Manager Kevin Cash of the Rays wanted to try an opener, a pitcher selected to pitch the first one to three innings at the start of a ballgame. The reason for the change was that starting pitchers tend to be less effective the third time they face batters. Rather, having a relief pitcher start the game will allow the regular starter (or "bulk guy") to pitch later and reach later innings without having to face as many hitters. Romo became the first pitcher to be utilised in this role after 588 major league relief appearances, starting on May 19, 2018. He pitched one scoreless inning against the Los Angeles Angels, throwing out the team's leadership before being replaced by Ryan Yarbrough in an eventual 5–3 victory. In a 5–2 loss, he returned to pitching 113 runs in a 5–2 loss. Romo was the first pitcher since Zack Greinke in 2012 to start on consecutive days. He went on to make three more starts on May 25, May 27, and June 1, the second inning in just the second inning of the three major leagues. However, the Rays began using him as their closer in June, as lex Colomé, who had started the year in that capacity, had been traded on May 25. Romo will be the year's best friend. After playing the last two outs of the eighth inning, Jonny Venters was moved to third base to begin the ninth so left-hander Greg Bird could pitch to left-hander Jonny Venters. Romo returned to the mound after the Venters' retirement of Bird, becoming the first two hitters to reach the save. He converted nine consecutive save opportunities and posted a 1.54 ERA from August 9 to September 17. Romo earned his 100th career save in a 2–0 victory over the Boston Red Sox on August 19th. Romo played in a career-high 73 games, fourth in the American League (AL), while getting a career-high five starts. He had a 3–4 record, a 4.14 ERA, and 25 saves out of 33 chances. He struck out 75 runs in 67+1/3 innings. He became a free agent after the season.

Romo signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Miami Marlins on February 12, 2019. He was the closest thing to his role as the late July queen, with 17 saves in 38 appearances. Romo converted his first seven chances and his team's last ten attempts, but he only made one save for the Marlins this season. With the bases loaded, no outs in the eighth, and the Marlins up 8–4. He allowed two of his uncles to score that inning, but did not allow a run him to do so. In the 8–6 win, he pitched a scoreless ninth, earning the save. In 33+223 innings pitched for Miami, he had a 2–0 record, a 3.58 ERA, and 33 strikeouts in 37+2/3 innings. For Lewin D'az, the Marlins traded Romo, Chris Vallimont, and a PTBNL to the Minnesota Twins on the day.

Romo became the setup man for Twins closer Taylor Rogers after joining the Twins. In the eighth inning of a 3–1 victory over the Chicago White Sox, he struck out all three men he faced. In 27 Minnesota games, he had an 0–1 record, three saves in five chances, a 3.18 ERA, and 27 strikeouts in 22+223 innings. He played in a total of 65 games between Miami and Minnesota, compiling a 2–1 record, 20 saves in 23 chances, and 60 strikeouts in 60+13 innings.

In 2019, Romo helped the Twins win the AL Central Championship. He made the first two outs of the eighth inning without losing a run; however, the Twins lost by 8–2. With the Twins down 3–1 in the eighth inning, he threw a scoreless eighth but allowed two runs in the ninth, bringing an end to a string of Twins. Romo became a free agent after the season.

Romo returned to the Twins for the 2020 season on December 16, 2019, completing a one-year, $5 million contract with a team option for 2021. Due to the COVID-19 situation, the 2020 MLB season did not begin until July 24. He was back as Rogers' setup man, but Twins manager Rocco Baldelli used him in the ninth occasionally, but Rogers' manager Rocco Baldelli often used him in the ninth as Rogers failed to repeat his success from 2019. Romo retired Francisco Lindor on a fly ball to end the eighth inning in a 3–1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on September 11. He and Lindor began screaming at each other as he walked back to their dugout. The benches were cleared, although no punches were issued, and Romo was suspended one game by MLB the next day for his involvement in the incident. Sandy Alomar Jr., the Indians' general manager, told reporters, "This is a situation that has been simmering for a while." "I mean, Romo likes to dish it out." The guys did it back. Romo's been animated throughout his career and he has played in the National League, so this is the whole deal. We don't know much about him. That's all it is. We dish it back and you must take it if he's gonna make it. That's the bottom line." Romo appeared in 24 games in 2020, a 1–2 record with 4.05 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched. In six chances, he made five saves in six chances.

Romo advanced to the playoffs for the second year in a row as the Twins clinched the AL Central championship. Rogers was released early in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros, bringing the game to a close conclusion. He gave up two runs before retiring the next two batters. George Springer, then, came into what should have been a force play at second base, but Jorge Polanco's throw to second base was too far off the field, allowing Springer to safely reach safely. Romo then walked José Altuve to force in a run before being replaced on the mound by Caleb Thielbar, who gave up a two-run single to Michael Brantley. None of the runs were earned, but Romo was charged with the loss in the 4–1 loss. With a victory over the Twins in Game 2, the Astros defeated the Twins. The Twins refused to exercise their $5 million pick on Romo's 2021 season, making him a free agent and giving him a $250,000 buyout.

Romo's one-year, $2.25 million deal with the Oakland Athletics began on February 14, 2021. Romo made 66 appearances for Oakland during the 2021 season. Romo went 1-1-1 with a 4.67 ERA and 60 strikeouts. Following the season, Romo decided that a free agency would be created.

Romo signed with the Seattle Mariners one-year, $2 million deal on March 24, 2022. On June 20, he was designated for deployment.

Romo signed a one-year, $700K contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on June 29, 2022. He was approved for assignment on July 16, 2022. On July 20, 2022, he was outrighted to the Buffalo Bisons. The same day, he established a free agency.

Romo joined the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League on August 1, 2022.

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