When it comes to the challenges that have faced Cardinals’ reliever JoJo Romero through his first full season as a key part of a major league bullpen, the left-hander feels the innings have been one thing. The stressors that come with the role he’s carved for himself have been another.
As Major League Baseball’s All-Star break approaches and a break from baseball is days away, the lefty said he’ll get a chance to spend time with his family at their new home in Arizona as well as getting a chance for a mental break following a first half where he was one of the Cardinals’ more frequent late-inning relievers.
“It allows you to relax and not think about the stress of coming to the field, making sure the body is feeling great that day,†Romero said of the benefits the All-Star break provides. “You have to go through all the stuff you need to just to feel great to go out there and play catch, and then it’s a whole different process to make sure you’re ready for the game. I think it just provides more of that peace of mind. Peace of mind more than anything.â€
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Through a career-high 42 games, Romero has logged a career-high 40 innings, maintained a 2.48 ERA, and struck out 34 batters while walking eight. His 26 holds entering Saturday tied him with Washington Nationals righty Hunter Harvey for the lead across the majors.
Romero, 27, was tied for 19th in appearances among relievers across MLB and was second among ºüÀêÊÓƵ’ bullpen core in that category behind right-hander Andrew Kittredge before the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader His 40 innings of work were fourth-most among Cardinals relievers behind rookie Ryan Fernandez (42), closer Ryan Helsley (41), and Kittredge (41).
Romero described the workload as a “challenging†aspect that has come with his role. He’s taken “bits and pieces†from the likes of Helsley and Kittredge on what body maintenance is needed to be ready when called upon while getting a feel for the mental factors that are needed for the job.
“It’s not so much workload, it’s the situations that you come in. The high-stress inning. Coming in later in the game,†Romero said on Saturday. “Every time I’ve been coming in, it’s high-stress innings, game on the line, one-run, two-run (scenarios). I think just the situation itself causes more — it’s kind of stress on the body and stress on the mind, too. I think that more than anything.â€
Romero came into the season as one of the relievers the Cardinals expected to fill a leverage role after he successfully filled that role in the second half of the 2023 season.
When Helsley spent nearly three months on the injured list last summer, Romero posted a 3.42 ERA and struck out 33% of the batters he faced across 26 1/3 innings before the lefty’s season was cut short at the start of September because of a knee injury. The 27-year-old collected three saves — those being the first three of his career — in five opportunities during that stretch.
His inclusion on the Cardinals’ opening-day roster this year was his first opening day inclusion of his career and came with a role he got a taste of a season prior. Romero described a sense of “comfort†he’s found in the tight spots as opposed to the “really tense†feelings he’d get in years prior for moment that can sometimes be left out of a box score.
“Late outs are tough outs, and I don’t think people can quantify sometimes what it takes in order to get the last few outs of the game,†Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said ahead of Saturday’s doubleheader between the Cardinals and Cubs. “There is a different mentality to it. You have to be pretty thick-skinned. … You have to be able to take criticism at a high level and forget things quickly in order to perform the very next day when you’re taking the ball pretty often. The mentality side of high leverage is one that’s — gosh, it’s so important.â€
Extra Bases
Tommy Edman went hitless in three at-bats as Class AA Springfield’s designated hitter on Friday night as the switch-hitting utilityman continues his rehab assignment. Edman, who is recovering from right wrist surgery he had over the offseason, exited Friday’s game in Springfield in the eighth inning. The rehab appearance was Edman’s third since starting his assignment on Tuesday and continued his gradual build-up with his workload. He did not play the field during any of his first three games with Springfield.
Cardinals prospect Quinn Mathews pitched a scoreless inning of relief in Saturday’s Futures Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Mathews struck out two batters, allowed one hit, and flashed as high as 95 mph with his fastball in his appearance for the National League Futures squad. Mathews was selected to this year’s Futures Game amid a breakout year that has included a 2.22 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 85 innings across Class AA, Class High-A, and Class Low-A. The 23-year-old left-hander was the Cardinals’ fourth-round pick in the 2023 MLB draft.