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Romo, who the Rays acquired late Saturday for cash considerations, has the confidence of the organization despite recent struggles, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports. "I think any time a guy who throws mid to upper 80s, when they hit a rough patch, it's easy to say he's toast, he's done," GM Erik Neander said Sunday. "The way that we look at it is we think what he brings to the table, the ability to miss bats, a lot of that's still there."
The 34-year-old reliever often looked like a shadow of his former self over his 25 innings with the Dodgers this season, posting a 6.12 ERA and career-worst 4.3 BB/9. However, it's his extensive body of work prior to 2017 that has the Rays cautiously optimistic that a change of scenery will bring out the best of what Romo has left to offer. The organization actually had keen interest in the former closer during the offseason, with his career 0.98 WHIP and .189 BAA versus right-handed hitters serving as two particularly appealing factors. Now that he's finally arrived in Tampa, manager Kevin Cash will experiment with how best to deploy the three-time World Series winner out of the bullpen, with Romo most likely to initially get acclimated in some low-leverage scenarios.
