FEB. 16: FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Romo would also earn $125K for making each his 50th and 60th appearance of the season.
FEB. 15: The Dodgers have added some experience to the back of their bullpen, announcing a one-year deal with veteran right-hander and longtime division rival Sergio Romo. The contract reportedly guarantees Romo, a client of Meister Sports, $3MM and affords him a chance to add to that total via incentives. To make room for Romo, right-hander Yimi Garcia was placed on the 60-day disabled list. Garcia is recovering from Tommy John surgery last October.
Romo, 33, is no stranger to Los Angeles; he has been a mainstay of the NL West-rival Giants for the past nine seasons. The right-hander’s familiarity with the NL West and his southern California roots seems to have impacted his decision, as the Nationals and others were said to be interested, but he took a reportedly smaller guarantee than other clubs had offered in order to pitch for the Dodgers.
In over 400 career innings with San Francisco, Romo has compiled an excellent 2.58 ERA with a sparkling 10.2 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9. Though he’s a soft-tosser, he has long beguiled hitters with his slider, helping to produce a lifetime 14.2% swinging-strike rate.
It was much the same in 2016, even as Romo lost about 1.5 mph on his fastball offerings as well as the vaunted slider. He also goes to a change-up at times, though it’s a little-used pitch. While the Giants’ 2016 club will long be remembered for its inability to finish out close games, Romo steadily produced results and did not actually record any of the team’s league-leading thirty blown saves. (Of course, he went on to have two unsuccessful appearances in the NLCS, including one in which he did record a blown save.)
The loss of velocity represents one area of potential concern moving forward. And Romo did spend some time on the DL in 2016, with a flexor tendon strain limiting him to forty total appearances — breaking a run of six-straight seasons in which he had made taken the ball at least 64 times. He also benefited from a lofty 92.3% strand rate and coughed up 1.47 home runs per nine innings, providing some context for his excellent results.
[RELATED: Updated Dodgers Depth Chart]
Still, it seems that Los Angeles did well to land Romo on a one-year commitment. Last time he hit the market, he landed back with the Giants for two years and $15MM. MLBTR had predicted much the same this winter, pegging Romo for another two year pact at a $7MM annual rate. (While that appears to have been off, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes did correctly guess the landing spot.)
Romo presumably slot in with Pedro Baez as part of the righty setup unit in front of closer Kenley Jansen. The move deepens a unit that could also be bolstered by whatever pitchers fail to crack a rotation that’s exceedingly deep — albeit also filled with a number of pitchers who come with health questions.
Jon Morosi of MLB Network first reported the agreement (via Twitter). MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reported that it’d be a one-year pact (via Twitter). FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported the guarantee and said Romo turned down larger offers (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
therealbdavis
Wow really? I actually think this was a wise decision. We need the extra relief.
clintwolfron
If you like serving up launchpad hanging sliders
darkstar61
Playing in LA will help keep those in the stadium
Lord30
Because San Fran really is a hitters park.. said no one ever
darkstar61
San Francisco is fairly Neutral, actually.
BlueSkyLA
So is Dodger Stadium, actually.
darkstar61
Dodger Stadium is a roughly 93 Pitchers Park and is about on par with Oakland (SanFran is a 98-99)
falconsball1993
Hey! Did ya know that Wrigley Field was a pitchers park two years ago, but last year was a hitters park again? Stop putting weight into unrefined factors like stadium effects.
bigkempin
Wrigley fluctuates due to the wind. Parks like Dodger Stadium, ATT, O.Co don’t fluctuate
BlueSkyLA
See, that’s where you are wrong, and where it helps to know something about the meteorology in these areas.
dutch91701
The point he was making is that having a better offense makes your stadium look more offense friendly when it’s actually just the skill of your players, the Cubs being an example. Dodger Stadium’s rating in park factor has fluctuated in relation to their offensive skill in recent years. Same is probably true with SF.
darkstar61
They calculate the Factors for both single seasons and multi-year trends to account for changes. It is best to always look at the multi-years numbers – which is what I gave above
…and seriously, I really cant believe people are actually arguing this – it is basic, common knowledge that Dodger Stadium is a rather extreme Pitchers Park
BlueSkyLA
Not sure what point he was making, but park factors are supposed to be compensated by comparing at home and away performance. As with any statistic they can only explain so much variance but for sure Dodger Stadium is a different place to hit on a hot dry day compared to a cool damp evening.
Lord30
True, but saying Dodgers stadium will help him keep the ball in the park more than he did at Giants stadium isn’t.
YourDaddy
In 2016 ATT Park was the hardest park to hit a home run in and had a 0.704 park factor for home runs. Chavez Latrine had a 0.914 home run park factor. It was 20% easier to hit a home run in LA than SF.
espn.com/mlb/stats/parkfactor/_/sort/HRFactor
darkstar61
…and… San Francisco was the 7th easiest to hit a 3B, 2B and Single in (Dodger stadium was 30th, 18th and 27th, respectively while ranking 20th in HR)
So, again, Dodger Stadium is an extreme Pitchers Park while SF is neutral (to even Hitter-Friendly, based off the top-10 hit rates)
…and we are still left wondering wtf are people thinking arguing this nonsense?
pustule bosey
the numbers are kind of skewed though, I would be curious to see the home/away numbers and a per pitcher, there were a lot of reeealy bad pitching performances both in the rotation with cain and peavy and in the bullpen where guys like broadway came up and crapped the bed (who when all was said and done gave up 7 ER in 5 innings and held nobody) to inflate the numbers.
darkstar61
It is based off what the Home teams players did at their Home Stadium against what they did on the road – what you are asking for isnt a factor
But, want to see Romo specifically (since he is the conversation and all?)
1.176 WHIP – Home (Romo 2016)
0.951 WHP – Road (Romo 2016)
Romo was giving up dramatically higher BaseRunner rates at home than on the road, which happens to match this:
SF 7th easiest to hit a Single at
SF 7th easiest to hit Double at
SF 7th easiest to hit Triple at
SF 5th Easiest to get Walked at
(per the ESPN link)
That much higher Baserunner/Batters-Faced rate seems to have resulted in this:
1.59 HR/9 off 1.18 WHIP – Home (Romo 2016)
1.32 HR/9 off 0.95 WHIP – Road (Romo 2016)
Not just a fluke either
0.60 HR/9 off 1.20 WHIP – Home (Romo 2015)
0.33 HR/9 off 0.92 WHIP – Road (Romo 2015)
Recently Romo has seen a roughly 0.30 increase in his HR/9 playing in SF seemingly because of the friendly hitting conditions allowing more base-runners (~0.25 WHIP)/resulting in more batters faced (usually a big problem for a short reliever)
Romo should be expected to see a drop in WHIP and in return HR/9 moving away from San Fran and into the pitchers heaven Dodger Stadium (probably at least part of the reason he apparently took less money to go there, tbh) – why people wanted to argue against the bloody obvious though, well that still remains a mystery
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
Wrigley is 50/50 the wind blows out hitters park. If it blows in. Players will be lucky to hit it to the warning track.
dodgerfan711
Hanley ramirez is the only Dodger i ever saw rake his slider.
socalblake
He’s also the only Dodger infielder to never dive for a ball in play, with the exception being the WBC, but he technically wasn’t playing for the Dodgers in that game. Ironically, he injured his thumb.
therealbdavis
10K/9 and a below ERA of 2.50 as a career closer with post season experience. Ya not a bad pickup especially to help with the 6,7,8 innings.
frankiegxiii
Nice, would be cool to get both Blanton AND Romo but doesn’t seem very likely
Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA
It actually has been reported both are still in play.
frankiegxiii
I’ve heard they were talking to both, I don’t think they are going to sign both
baseballdad3036
What a stupid move! Romo hasn’t been Romo for 2 years
vtadave
Besides a few HR, he’s actually been pretty good the last couple years.
clintwolfron
Dodgers love signing washed up Giants
lowtalker1
Careful in your words
Bc vin scully grew up a Giants fans and the doyuers hired him
Matt Rox
Yep. Jason Schmidt, Juan Uribe, just to name a few.
fred-3
Juan Uribe was a great Dodger
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
Juan Uribe waa seriously underrated. He was always a great utility guy
clintwolfron
Brian Wilson, Eujenio Velez, Juan Uribe
Kent was good at least
Travis’ Wood
Uribe was great for the Dodgers…
YourDaddy
I think we have different ideas of great. Uribe hit .260/.306/.381/.687 as a Dodger. That’s mediocre. So Uribe was mediocre for the Dodgers.
Wolf Hoffmann
We do have a different idea of great, you are a Madres fan afterr all. LOSERS!! Hahahahahahaha
BlueSkyLA
Brett Butler.
arcadia Ldogg
Juan Marichal
vtadave
Steve Finley
Travis’ Wood
2.64 ERA is washed up? This dude just loves trolling.
dstuart
Safe to say you don’t know just how bad he was last year
Travis’ Wood
If you’d like to explain how he was bad last year I’m all ears. His stats say otherwise.
dstuart
I’m gunna go out on a limb and say you didn’t watch very much of the Giants last year, let alone their bullpen.
Travis’ Wood
So you’re just gonna ignore the numbers and say he was bad because you watched him pitch? Nice argument… And I did watch him plenty throughout last season. He was solid especially towards the end of the year.
dstuart
Hahahahahahahahaha no, he wasn’t.
Travis’ Wood
Are you incapable of using actual evidence? Give me some numbers to support your arguement. I already have. 2.6 ERA is very good.
kbarr888
rols……….”He’s just one of those guys who “hates stats”………..LMAO
vtadave
So because a great offensive team in the Cubs resulted in two bad innings, you’re going to ignore the fact that he allowed two ER in his last 15 regular season innings. Cool story.
YourDaddy
Here is his slash line against.
.278/.409/.667/1.076 – RISP
.188/.235/.375/.610 – Giants up by 4 runs or more
.276/.333/.586/.920 – 8th inning 22 of 39 appearances
He did awesome in mop up duty. When it counted, he was not so good outside of the only 4 save opportunities he was allowed to come in for.
I don’t think Romo is a bad pitcher, he is actually decent, I just think his FIP, xFIP, and DERA are much more indicative of the pitcher he is than ERA. Would I want him as my closer? Heck no. Would he be a good 6th inning guy? Heck yeah.
myaccount
Would love to see what his BABIP against was for that RISP slash line. Seems like that could regress back towards his career norm if it was inflated by BABIP (which I’m assuming it was)
clintwolfron
You know if Colleti was still in charge Tim Lincecum would be a dodger right now
Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA
If Colletti was still in charge Peavy, Romo, Cassilla, Lopez, and Ehire would all be Dodgers. That being said I’m quite sure Colletti will never be hired as a Dodgers gm. We can all go on our marry way.
dodgerfan711
Uribe won us a playoff series. Jeff kent raked here. Only Schmidt was a failure. Wilson did good in 2013 the mistake was signing him to a 2 year deal after that. Euegeno velez was a minor player the fact that you include him shows you are just trying to troll. How about the former giant that hit a walk off homerun to win the nl west
Travis’ Wood
Uribe has the best two seasons of his career as a dodger. He trolls on every article so it’s no surprise.
clintwolfron
His career year was 2010 where he helped the giants win a World Series and posted a by far career high 24 home runs
pustule bosey
He had a much better post season in 2012 when he served as the closer
Travis’ Wood
Right cause homeruns are the only stat that matters. The hell are you talking about? His two highest fWAR seasons were both with the Dodgers as well as his two highest wRC+ seasons. But good try.
darkstar61
2010 wasnt even his best season in SanFan, let alone of his career
clintwolfron
He never even posted above 400 at bats as a dodger. You’re an idiot if you think anything but 2010 was his career year. The giants also had him signed for 3 mill that year compared to the dodgers throwing tons of money at everyone like they do. Thats good be brought another division title to LA though. His game 7 homerun vs the Rangers was a little more significant. Or his 3 hr game against them to open the series
clintwolfron
3 run hr*
dodgerfan711
Clintwolf has no clue what he is talking about. Rangers giants didnt go to 7 games and edgar renteria hit the game winning home run not uribe. Quit trolling, Uribes home run vs the braves was the best game i ever attended. The fact that you think his dodger career was washed up compared to the giants is comical
darkstar61
@clintwolfron
Career high WAR numbers:
5.0 – 2013 Dodgers
3.7 – 2014 Dodgers
3.5 – 2004 White Sox
2.8 – 2009 Giants
2.8 – 2010 Giants
(2010 saw his career high playing time to get to that 2.8 WAR, so he was playing much better in 2009 in nearly 150 fewer PA to end up with the same WAR)
…sorry, but 2010 was his 5th best season in the majors.
Travis’ Wood
Not even having 400 ABs makes the fact that his two highest fWAR seasons both came in LA all the more impressive. Thanks for helping strengthen my argument.
darkstar61
No problem
And seriously, I only posted it because of how comically incorrect his assessment was; Uribe wasnt just better in LA, he was dramatically better (In all honesty, the fulltime move to 3rd really helped out the WAR, but he still posted his 2 highest wRC+ seasons with the Dodgers and 2010 slips to his 6th best season solely with the bat if we go by that stat)
clintwolfron
It’s okay to not understand what its like to have a guy be so crucial in a world series victory and have a great season at the same time on a more affordable contract
Travis’ Wood
Sorry darkstar my response was meant for Clint, not you. I totally agree with you.
Travis’ Wood
Uribe hit .149 with a 27(!) wRC+ in the 2010 playoffs. That’s simply abysmal. But keep making crap up, it’s the internet where you can say whatever you want!
darkstar61
Oh come on…
Uribe batted a whopping .158/.200/.316 in the 2010 World Series.
He got all of 2 hits in the first 2 games (Giants scored a combined 20 runs in those two) then went on to go just 1 for 12 in the final 3 games (Giants scored just 9 combined in those 3)
So yeah, his measly 2 hits in those games the Giants whole team absolutely crushed the ball sure were important, and they easily made up for his completely dumping the bed in the games where SanFran was having a hard time scoring!
clintwolfron
Retire his jersey as a dodger, the impact he had on those two teams isn’t even comparable
dodgerfan711
You said juan uribe hit a game winning home run in game 7 of the 2010 world series. I dont know what world that happened in but it certainly wasn’t this one
darkstar61
The impact Uribe had on the Giants is …well, they would have been better off had they just benched him for the 2010 playoffs.
Seriously, the Giants would have been a better team if nearly any other 3B in the game had been plying for them in the 2010 postseason – he was that horrific
None of it has anything to do with retiring Jerseys or any other emotional nonsense either – you are the one seemingly stuck on the emotional here anyway. No, straight facts is all we are talking about, and the fact is Juan had his best seasons in LA and he hurt the Giants chances bigtime in the 2010 playoffs (why you are trying to argue otherwise is beyond understanding, you dont seem to have a single fact on your side here)
Travis’ Wood
Your arguments make zero sense Clint lol. Guess I should know better than to argue with a troll. They never use actual evidence, just anecdotes and overused cliches.
Cam
Looks like you confused MLB: The Show, with reality. If you’re going to cite historical events, at least make sure those events really happened.
Thank you for your contribution to this discussion – we’ll take it from here, Junior.
stymeedone
He’s just providing “alternative facts!”
Nsoddycu
Yeah it dominated his 23 home run total in 04. Home runs aren’t everything or Chris Carter would be signed with a team by now
Barn
Are you nuts? I think you are mixing up Uribe with Panda. Uribe hit 24 home runs and had 85 RBI in 2010 and had a huge home run in game 1 of the World Series vs. Texas. Remember any of this??? He had a much better season in 2010 with the Giants than he ever had with the Dodgers. He may have struggled a bit later in the WS, but overall his 2010 season with the Giants blew away any season he ever spent with the Dodgers—-no question!
darkstar61
*Sigh*
That 5th inning HR was one of only 3 hits (in 19 AB, 4th most for SF) Juan had in that WS, and it had no impact on the actual score of the game as removing it still results in the Giants winning game 1
Other than that HR he had 2 singles (one in game 2 which scored runs, but the Giants won 9-0 anyway so no impact, and the other a single)
In other words, his completely non-existent 2010 WS impact likely could have been duplicated by having any PITCHER play 3B instead.
Then, again:
120 OPS+, 122 wRC+ – 2014 Dodgers
116 OPS+, 116 wRC+ – 2013 Dodgers
112 OPS+, 115 wRC+ – 2009 Giants
111 OPS+, 110 wRC+ – 2004 White Sox
103 OPS+, 104 wRC+ – 2015 3 teams
102 OPS+, 102 wRC+ – 2010 Giants
…2010 was his 6th best season with the bat – and it’s not up for debate, it’s just straight fact. (trying to argue it merely proves you have no idea what you are talking about)
YourDaddy
2009 was actually Uribe’s best year. .289/.329/.495/.824
McGlynnandjuice
Damn, sad to see him go to the Dodgers. Well, I wish him luck anyway
Chasssooo
Had to try something, Dodgers pen hasn’t exactly shined in the playoffs the last few years.
mumfordzero
I think it’s a good signing. He still has a wipe out slider.
cvarneski
I like it. I’m guessing 1 year/$3M.
Travis’ Wood
I’d guess 1/7
JoeyPankake
Guessing closer to 5M
cvarneski
Called it!
Travis’ Wood
Nice! Although I’m guessing my 1/$7 guess was closer to the highest bidder since he took substantially less to go to LA. But props haha you nailed it.
dodgerfan711
Romo has had a consistently good era. He is also in a perfect spot since he doesent have to be the closer like he was forced to in SF.
McGlynnandjuice
He was never forced to be the closer
dodgerfan711
Id say he was thrown into the fire last year. Thats why i think he blew both saves in the nlds
McGlynnandjuice
I think I remember reading an article last year around September time where he was quoted saying that he wanted to be the closer
gmenfan
Thrown into the fire ? He had been the Giants closer or part of a closer-by-committee for multiple season prior to 2016. In fact, he was pretty miffed at his multiple demotions from the role over the last few years.
Armaday
The slider has lost some slide and hitters have become very aware of it.
It’s his only out pitch and it’s not such an out anymore.
I do wish him well in Hollywood.
Sundevil617
Now do the dodgers sign blevins and blanton or one of the two?
baeksu
Bet they work something out with Blanton. But Romo kind of surprises me, so who knows.
Deke
He was a wonderful Giant. Romo was always very real, humble and seemed to be a good guy. There were times that he struggled but he also did many more great things as a Giant. I’m never happy to see us lose one to LA but that’s where he grew up and his dad was/is a Dodger fan so I suspect he’s probably happy to stay on the West Coast. I wish him all the best except for when he plays SF!
wiggysf
Exactly. Good luck, former player, except when playing your old team!
fettichico shiznilty
His grandpa must be happy
fettichico shiznilty
Or his dad… thanks Deke
Deke
You’re right about that too. I vaguely recall an interview where he said his grandpa was a long time LA supporter and gave him a hard time about being a Giant.
Rickey O'Sunnyvale
Welcome home Sergio! Now sign Blanton and we’re ready to go.
cplovespie
Romo is a solid, swing and miss late innings pitcher. He might not bring the dominance of Jansen but that isn’t what the Dodgers need. They already have a surplus of young arms; the reason Romo is important is to provide experience and a dependable 7~8 inning arm. I think we can fairly expect him to pitch 60 innings of sub-3 era ball, which would be fine to the Dodgers because of the pure talent they have. I say this is a good signing for us
tommyLA
It’s a great move, one year commitment with upside. If he’s a bust, you move on next year or release him with minimal risk. I only see good things.
Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA
I really like this move since Blanton is still in play. It doesn’t have the same effect if they can’t resign Blanton. Although at this point in his career Romo might be a situational guy.
Sundevil617
I really hope they still get Blanton. Head scratcher on Boone though he ended up with a one year deal and the Dodgers showed no interest. They missed blevins and boone it would be rough if they missed out on Blanton or the offer is too much the Dodgers back out.
Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA
No I think the Dodgers have enough lefties in the pen or potentially in the pen especially situation guys. Their need is guys to push everyone back. Blanton and Romo would do just that. Even just situationally Blanton would allow them to use Romo to attack righties and Lib could roam to attack lefties leaving Dayton free.
jdgoat
Liberatore will be fine as their primary lefty
bsim31
You mean Dayton right? He’s by far our best lefty option.
Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA
No because Dayton can get both out. Lib has shown flashes, but he might essentially be the primary left handed specialist.
mikesmom82
No No NO hope he looses every game he pitches
mvpalmar
Hope that he signs with the Nats. I got his autograph and a selfie with him at a Nats game last year, so that would be pretty cool
mvpalmar
Also, right now, the Nats best in house options are Joe Nathan, Shawn Kelley, and maybe Blake Treinen. So, yeah…
pepesilvia
Once again mlbtradeumours does it… this happened DAYS ago. And i understand its a slow,time of year for baseball but to keep reporting on the SAME stories is ludacris. Not to mention no one even cares about Sergio romo anyway. Maybe later they will report that joe batista resinged with toronto again just for the heck of it. Ridiculous.
sacball
quick! someone get this guy a diaper change!
Sundevil617
Lighten up, Francis.
jdgoat
He hasn’t signed until now
alexgordonbeckham
“The deal perhaps isn’t quite done, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag, who reports that another club is ‘still involved in the bidding.’” So you’re wrong. This didn’t get done 3 days ago as this was the last update from that day.
pepesilvia
John heyman dont know nothing anyway
vtadave
Yep, not as much as pepesilva for sure
Travis’ Wood
Heyman’s analysis is often brutal but he’s an excellent reporter. Up there with Rosenthal at the best at breaking news.
lesterdnightfly
Folks, don’t be around pepesilvia when he breaks a shoelace or stubs a toe. All hell might break loose for miles around.
Especially if Jon Heyman reports the incident….
Joseph Anderson
Yeah, it sucks when people know more than you. You saw a rumor he was going to sign and thought it was a done deal. Royals went after Hammel and that’s not a completely done deal either (waiting physical). Some things have to happen before something is actually official…….But hey, what do any of us know. It’s your world we’re just living in it……
takeyourbase
You’re free to not come back!
slider32
I think this is the year the Dodgers go to the world series. I think they are one of the three best teams in the NL. There only weak spot right now is leftfield, and I think they will go get someone at the deadline like Gardner or even Braun.
Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA
Stop the Dodgers are not going to trade for Gardner. There has simply never been a link or a fit. It just doesn’t fit. I also don’t see them adding Braun’s contract. If they do make a push for an OF it’s be an expiring contract. It also depends on Puig and if he’s made adjustments/ his performance.
BlueSkyLA
Don’t know if it’s just politics but the Dodgers are making noises indicating they feel like they’ve finally gotten through to Puig on taking the game seriously.
Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA
Which I can see. He seemed be humbled after being sent to AAA. And it appears at least outwardly that the team leaders have accepted him. Especially the positional guy.
I was talking more so adjustments at the plate, which have hampered him and clearly evident last year. Mainly it’s been his inability to get to the inner half on an average to above average fb. I think Puig is an X factor and a major question mark. As much as I hate to say it, they might be reliant upon him. Especially being another important RH bat. But regardless this is probably his last chance with Belly and Verdugo nipping at the heels. They will also have the luxury of slow playing Thompson until he’s fully healed. So I’m not sure what we will see, but a reemergence from Puig would be huge. That being said if he does rebound there is going to be a serious log jam at the top which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But here’s to hoping.
Deke
As a Giants fan, I can’t stand Puig. If I were a Dodgers fan I’d still hate him. Don’t like the way he plays the game. But I will say, he’s someone that scares me. If he gets his act together and does what people have been telling him and plays more level headed. He’s dangerous as hell. Also as much as I dislike him, I would have him on my team and just hope I could get through to him.
Travis’ Wood
Dodgers have Ether, Puig, Pederson, Thompson, Toles, Van Slyke and Kike as outfield options. In no way do they need Gardner or Braun (why take on the back end of that contract anyways?)
hojostache
That is couch change for LAD and a great upside signing. He obviously lost some velocity, but he can at least be an effective 6th/7th and if things break right an 8th/setup guy. I wanted the Mets to take a run at him before they re-signed Salas for the same $ (who I also like and did well for them last year).
I was expecting Romo to sign for 1/$6 or 1/$7m with maybe a team option/$1m-ish buyout.
jonnyblah
Good get by the Dodgers @ 1/$3mil. He’s not the Romo of old, but he can certainly still contribute. One thing about Romo, though, is that the Giants handled him differently than other relievers to try to keep him available and on the mound when needed, particularly the past 2 or so years. He’s a little fragile. I can’t say why with certainty, but I imagine all those no-dot sliders over the years have taken their toll. But I love the guy, fun clubhouse presence and a really fun dugout presence. I really hope he does well.
Thronson5
So he took less money to pitch for the Dodgers. He must’ve really wanted to stick it to the Giants. Not saying this is a great signing but it is a solid pick up. He plays with a lot of passion and teams feed off that. His passion is probably what made him want to pitch for the Giants rival after giving them everything and them just letting him leave like they did. I think he’s obviously lost some velocity but he is still good and pitching in Dodgers stadium will help a little as well. Hopefully we go out and get one more reliever, maybe Blanton, but if we don’t I’m happy with this team right now. Only are for concern for me is Puig so I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what comes of that situation. Seems like he played a lot better after coming up from the minors but that’s kind of the way he is, he plays good then bad..it’s never consistent with him! I would love if they could revisit that trade for Braun and make that happen.
Deke
I don’t think it’s that. He grew up a Dodgers fan. His family are all Dodgers fans. Plus he probably wants to stay in CA near his friends and family. He’s that kinda guy, he doesn’t seem to be motivated by money. Just my opinion, you could be right.
dem_bums88
He wants to pitch for the Dodgers so he can serve up gopher balls and help the Giants out. This is so typical of this low budget acting front office. They don’t have a decent option to bridge from the starter to Kenley. It will be the same thing as the last 4 years good enough to make the playoffs and then get beat.
Cam
And who do you think the FO should throw money at? Newsflash – the market isn’t bursting with elite arms. And they ponied up 80 odd million to get one of those arms already.
I swear, some fans have a mythical glut of quality free agents in their head, just ready and waiting to come and play with whatever team suits their narrative.
Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA
That low budget FO just spent 192M plus 3M and incentives, and recently acquired 14.25M. It’s like they didn’t open their wallet books this offseason. But you know whatever fits your logic. Its not like they’ll be stuck paying 75% in threshold taxes at the end of the year. It’s actually a really good piece seeing as they have enough lhp to use him properly.
marusan
I love this type of contract… I wish all contracts were incentive based. A good base guarantee plus upside for players performance makes great sense. Maeda’s is a great example. Lessens the risk for the club and allows players to earn to their potential.
dodgers_are_a_bunch_of_pansies
The dodgers are a bunch of stupid pansies
lucero5000
I love this signing. If only for how weird it’s gonna be when he takes mound for first time at AT
lucero5000
I love this signing. If only for how weird it’s gonna be when he takes mound for first time at AT
mikesmom82
Hope he loses every game he pitches what a punk
pinkerton
I know my comments/opinions don’t amount to a hill of beans, but why Photoshop the guy in the new uniform already? That just doesn’t make sense to me.
mcdusty31
Balogna…he looks amazing in Dodgers blue, as does any player lol
pinkerton
so rave reviews on the uniform, then?
mcdusty31
Very rave
BlueSkyLA
I’m trying to figure out if the Dodgers uniform was Photoshopped onto Romo’s body or his head onto another body. If the latter the body might belong to Ronald Bellisario, who wore #74 for the Dodgers and had those arm tattoos. Either way it’s a convincing job.
OnMy11Six
Definitely romo’s celebration. And the pic is at AT
OCTraveler
Nooooooooooo!
Tom Neidenfuer reincarnated – jut think of a bonfire and add gasoline!
Sargeshooter85
Nats blow it again
giantsfan1
Giants fans will miss Romo. He was a great Giant. If his teammates are nice to him maybe he will show them what a World Series ring looks like. They won’t be getting any of their own anytime soon.
thelyonhearted
Sure he’ll show them one of his own, then rob the dodgers of their own WS ring sometime in the 9th inning when they’re up 5 runs and should in all other circumstances win.
He won’t be missed.
Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA
Kind of a good thing they have Jansen then huh?
radiogod
He could help the Dodgers get their 7th WS ring.
thelyonhearted
SO GLAD HE’S GONE. Have fun with that dodgers.