Kansas City Royals claim Enny Romero in attempt to find anything useful
The Kansas City Royals have continued their desperate search for anything useful in the bullpen, claiming Enny Romero off of waivers.
It was not that long ago when the Kansas City Royals bullpen was the envy of baseball. With Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, and Greg Holland at the back end of the bullpen, the Royals were essentially playing six inning games. Their return to relevance coincided with that stellar relief corps, leading to other teams copying that idea of a super bullpen.
Those days seem long ago. The Royals bullpen has a 5.08 ERA, the second worst in the majors, and the worst in the American League. Given their desperate need for anything that can resemble a viable major league reliever, Kansas City is taking a chance on Enny Romero, who they claimed off of waivers from the Pirates.
The Royals announced they claimed lefty reliever Enny Romero off waivers. He had a 3.56 ERA for the Nationals last year in 53 games. Blaine Boyer transferred to 60-day DL.
— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) July 5, 2018
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A former top prospect in the Rays system, Romero has never really panned out. He enjoyed success in the Nationals bullpen in 2017, posting a 3.56 ERA and a 1.401 WHiP, striking out 65 batters in 55.2 innings. Even though lefties hit him better than right handed batters, Romero was a useful piece in the Washington bullpen.
This year has been a much different story, as the Royals will be his third different franchise already in 2018. He has not had much opportunity at the major league level this season, but he has not given a team much of a reason to continue giving him chances. In his six innings, Romero has allowed 16 baserunners, leading to eight runs, five earned. His minor league numbers have not been much better, as Romero posted a 5.16 ERA and a 1.571 WHiP in seven innings, walking six batters with seven strikeouts.
As the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures. Romero was able to find success before, so the Royals may be hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. If Romero does prove to be a useful reliever, he is under team control until 2022, giving Kansas City a potential long term asset. Yet, given his track record, Romero will not be the answer the Royals are hoping for.
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The Kansas City Royals are the latest team to give Enny Romero a chance. Even though they are desperate for relief help, Romero is not likely to be the answer.