Enny Romero

ENNY ROMERO, LEFT HANDED PITCHER
Born: January 24, 1991
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 232
Bats: Right
Throws: Left
Signed: International Free Agent, 2008 (Rays)
How Acquired: Waiver claim (from Nationals)
Country: Dominican Republic
Agent: Beverly Hills Sports Council

WTM’S PLAYER PROFILE

Romero is a classic, live-armed reliever with very good velocity — his four-seam fastball sits around 96 mph — but issues with his control and secondary stuff.  He came up through the Rays’ farm system as a highly regarded starting pitching prospect, alternating good and bad years.  He’s always had trouble with his mechanics and that ultimately led the Rays to move him to the bullpen.  He relies very heavily on the fastball and it does produce swings and misses.  Romero’s main secondary pitch is a cutter and he occasionally throws a curve.  He’s not a groundball pitcher and he has a reverse platoon split; he’s allowed an OPS of .866 to left-handed hitters and .688 to right-handed hitters during his career.  He finally made some progress on his control with the Nationals in 2017, after a trade from Tampa.  Washington designated him for assignment in a roster crunch in April 2018 and the Pirates claimed him.

2008
DSL:  1-0-0, 2.76 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 16.1 IP, 4.4 BB/9, 11.0 K/9

Romero got into ten games in relief in the DSL and established a career-long pattern of high walk and K rates.

2009
R:  2-4-0, 4.81 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 39.1 IP, 4.8 BB/9, 7.6 K/9

In the GCL, Romero divided his time between starting and relieving, and continued to have issues with walks.

2010
R+:  4-1-0, 1.95 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 69.1 IP, 1.8 BB/9, 9.3 K/9
A-:  1-0-0, 1.80 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 5.0 IP, 9.0 BB/9, 7.2 K/9

Pitching as a starter, Romero had a breakout season in advanced rookie ball.  Baseball America rated him the Rays’ 11th best prospect after the season.

2011
A:  5-5-0, 4.26 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 114.0 IP, 5.4 BB/9, 11.1 K/9

Romero had more trouble in full season ball, with walks and inconsistent secondary pitches being the problems.  BA still rated him the Rays’ 8th best prospect.

2012
A+:  5-7-0, 3.93 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 126.0 IP, 5.4 BB/9, 7.6 K/9

The control problems continued in the Florida State League, although opponents batted only .201 against Romero.  BA again rated him the Rays’ 8th best prospect.  Tampa Bay added him to its 40-man roster after the season.

2013
AA:  11-7-0, 2.76 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 140.1 IP, 4.7 BB/9, 7.1 K/9
AAA:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 8.0 IP, 2.3 BB/9, 2.3 K/9
MLB:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 4.2 IP, 7.7 BB/9, 0.0 K/9

In AA, Romero had an outstanding season, albeit still with control issues and with a reduced K rate.  Opponents, though, batted only .215 against him.  BA moved him up to #4 in the Rays’ system and he got one September start in the majors.

2014
AAA:  5-11-0, 4.50 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 126.0 IP, 3.7 BB/9, 8.4 K/9

Romero had a tougher season in AAA, mainly in the form of getting hit harder; opponents batted .261 and slugged .411 against him.  It took a strong final month for him to get his ERA down to a passable level.  BA rated him 20th in the Rays’ system after the season.

2015
A+:  0-1-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 6.2 IP, 5.4 BB/9, 6.8 K/9
AAA:  1-1-1, 4.86 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 46.1 IP, 3.3 BB/9, 8.7 K/9
MLB:  0-2-0, 5.10 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, 30.0 IP, 3.9 BB/9, 9.3 K/9

Romero missed the first month, then after a rehab moved back and forth between AAA and the majors.  The Rays moved him to the bullpen and his control improved, but opponents batted .288 against him.

2016
A+:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 1.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 18.0 K/9
MLB:  2-0-1, 5.91 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 45.2 IP, 5.5 BB/9, 9.9 K/9

Except for missing some time in August with a back strain, Romero spent the season with the Rays.  He had trouble with walks and also gopher balls, allowing seven.  He did have a high K rate.  After the season, Tampa Bay traded Romero to Washington.

2017
AAA:  0-1-0, 4.26 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 6.1 IP, 1.4 BB/9, 11.4 K/9
MLB:  2-4-2, 3.56 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 55.2 IP, 3.7 BB/9, 10.5 K/9

Romero spent the season with the Nationals, except he missed August with a forearm strain.  He showed improvement, especially with his walk rate, and continued to fan a lot of hitters.  He again had a little trouble with gopher balls, allowing seven once more.

2018
MLB (Wash):  0-0-0, 13.50 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 4.5 BB/9, 9.0 K/9

After signing Mark Reynolds, Washington decided to go with a seven- rather than eight-man bullpen and designated Romero for assignment.  The Pirates claimed him off waivers.  With no options left, he’ll join the struggling major league bullpen, replacing Josh Smoker as the only lefty other than Felipe Vázquez.

UPDATE:  Romero pitched poorly in two games for the Pirates and they were prepared to designate him for assignment, but he reported shoulder soreness, so they put him on the disabled list.  He went through a minor league rehab, but with him out of options, the Pirates dfa’d him once the rehab was over.

CONTRACT INFORMATION
2018: $565,000
2017:
$551,000
2016:
$510,000
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: N/A
MiLB Debut: 2008
MLB Debut: 9/22/2013
MiLB FA Eligible: N/A
MLB FA Eligible: 2022
Rule 5 Eligible: N/A
Added to 40-Man: 11/20/09
Options Remaining: 0 (USED: 2013, 2014, 2015)
MLB Service Time: 2.072
TRANSACTIONS
June 2, 2008: Signed as an international free agent with the Tampa Bay Rays.
November 20, 2012: Contract purchased by the Tampa Bay Rays.
February 7, 2017: Traded by the Tampa Bay Rays to the Washington Nationals for Jeffrey Rosa.
April 7, 2018: Designated for assignment by the Washington Nationals.
April 14, 2018: Claimed off waivers from the Washington Nationals by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
July 2, 2018: Designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates.