Dodgers Add Bullpen Depth, Sign Sergio Romo
By Bill Pivetz
The Dodgers added support in the bullpen by signing former Giants closer Sergio Romo. With his experience in the division, he will still have fantasy value.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ bullpen was pretty much a one-man team. There were some good supporting pieces around Kenley Jansen but none that were reliable on a daily basis. With many other teams going the way of super bullpens, the Dodgers needed to add another piece. That man is Sergio Romo.
Romo spent nine seasons with Dodgers rival San Francisco Giants, from 2008 to 2016. It wasn’t until 2012 when we got to see Romo pitch in the ninth inning. In the final inning throughout his career, he has a 3.50 ERA, 1.013 WHIP, 185 strikeouts and 31 walks. Those are pretty good numbers.
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However, Romo will not be pitching in the ninth inning for the Dodgers. Jansen already has that spot locked up. No, Romo will likely be pitching in the eighth inning. While that does tank his fantasy value a bit, he pitches very well as the set-up man, too.
No, Romo will likely be pitching in the eighth inning. While that does tank his fantasy value a bit, he pitches very well as the set-up man, too.
In 184 eighth innings, Romo had a 1.96 ERA, 0.853 WHIP, 226 strikeouts and 36 walks. Having those numbers behind Jansen will help the starting pitchers and Jansen himself.
Staying in the division benefits Romo greatly. The only team he has trouble against in the Colorado Rockies, 4.13 ERA, but the majority of that came at Coors Field, 3.47 ERA. In 27 career games at Dodger Stadium, Romo has a 1.82 ERA, 0.811 WHIP, and 11.3 K/9.
Romo lost about 1.5 MPH on both his fastball and slider but was still able to deceive batters. He did spend some time on the DL with a flexor tendon strain, so there is some concern with Romo heading into this season.
If Romo let a batter reach base, he was able to leave them there. He had a 92.3% strand rate and allowed just 1.47 home runs per nine innings. Limiting runs is a key to success.
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Romo will join a bullpen featuring Pedro Baez, and whichever starting pitchers don’t make the rotation. I think he will be used more than the others, giving him a slight edge. He is undraftable in standard leagues, but in NL-only or holds leagues, he is a must own.