Two days after he was designated for assignment, Sergio Romo has found a new home as the Los Angeles Dodgers traded the right-handed reliever along with cash considerations to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for a player to be named later or cash.
After nine seasons that included winning three World Series with the San Francisco Giants, Romo signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Dodgers during the offseason. His homecoming, however, was hardly a success.
The 34-year-old was signed under the expectation of factoring into the Dodgers’ late-inning bullpen plans. His struggles led to a reduce role that coincided with low-leverage appearances.
Even with that, Romo last pitched July 8 against the Kansas City Royals. He entered in the seventh inning and struck out the only batter faced.
In 30 games with the Dodgers, Romo went 1-1 with a 6.12 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 12 walks and 31 strikeouts in 25 innings. He’s on track to set a career high with 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings, but his 4.3 walks per nine and 2.5 home runs per nine would be career-worst marks.
“I know he wishes, we wish, the circumstances were different,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday of the club’s decision. Romo was designated for assignment as a corresponding move to activating Grant Dayton from the disabled list. This is Romo’s first venture into the American League.
