After watching Ricky Romero go 0-12 with a 7.98 ERA in his previous 13 starts the Blue Jays mercifully decided to skip his turn in the rotation last week, giving the former All-Star a much-needed break.
Unfortunately it didn’t do much good.
Romero rejoined the rotation last night against the Mariners and failed to make it out of the fifth inning, allowing four runs on eight hits and four walks while recording just 12 outs.
With the loss he dropped to 8-14 with a 5.87 ERA overall, including 0-13 with a 7.91 ERA, .325 opponents’ batting average, and more walks (48) than strikeouts (44) in 72 innings spread over his last 14 starts. And remember, this is a 27-year-old pitcher who signed a $30 million contract extension after throwing 225 innings with a 2.92 ERA last season.
Romero has given up trying to explain his struggles, basically throwing his hands up when talking ro reporters after each terrible start, but manager John Farrell continues to insist that the Blue Jays will not shut him down. At this point I’m not sure if that’s showing confidence in Romero or some form of punishment.
