Jordan Romano’s tenure as Angels’ closer is going quite well despite troubling trends

The Los Angeles Angels had a number of closer candidates entering spring training and ultimately settled on Jordan Romano to close games at least to start the season after Robert Stephenson had yet another injury setback. Romano has looked promising to start the season in a ninth-inning role, but the dip in his fastball velocity has to be concerning.

Romano does already have two saves in three appearances on the season. The 32-year-old veteran looks sharp as he has yet to allow a run and has struck out four while walking two and has yet to allow a hit in 2 and 2/3 innings of work.

That's all well and good, but is it sustainable? The concerning thing is that his fastball is currently averaging 94.5 miles per hour which is a full tick down from the 95.5 he averaged last season with the Philadelphia Phillies. His fastball was at 96.4 back in 2024 so it seems he is losing a tick on his heater every season which is cause for alarm.

Jordan Romano's steady velocity decline could be bad news for Angels

The troubles for Romano are not limited to his heater. Romano's slider is also down a full tick as he's averaging 84.4 on it this season compared to 85.8 last season. Maybe it is too small of a sample size to worry about, or maybe he is sacrificing a little velocity for more control which may not be the worst idea considering he had a jarring 8.23 ERA in 43 innings pitched last season with the Philadelphia Phillies.

It is natural for a pitcher to lose his velocity as he ages, but what effect is that going to have on his stuff? If the fastball continues to decline then that could make him easier to hit especially since he really only attacks hitters with his fastball and slider and does not have an established third pitch to turn to with regularity.

Closers typically only rely on two pitches, but if both pitches are just a hair slower that could end up coming back to bite Romano before the season is over. Romano was once an All-Star closer with the Blue Jays. He recorded 36 saves in back-to-back years in 2022 and 2023 before he went off the rails in 2024 and was shut down due to an elbow injury.

After a rough few seasons that included a change in his delivery, he is trying to claw his way back to relevance with the Angels so maybe that added motivation can help him overcome a dip in velocity.