TORONTO -- Jordan Romano is back. You’ll find him in the right-field bullpen.
A lot about the Blue Jays’ first look at the Phillies felt a tad backwards, inevitable parallels shaping up as Romano spoke to media from the visitors' dugout and Jeff Hoffman fielded questions in the home clubhouse at Rogers Centre.
Last season, their jerseys were swapped. That’s the nature of business for a big league bullpen, but it doesn’t take anything away from the experience of facing your former team for the first time.
“It’s a little different, being on the away side,” Romano said ahead of the Blue Jays’ 8-3 loss on Tuesday. “It's actually really nice coming back to a place [with] a lot of cool moments, a lot of good friends here, a lot of memories made. It's where I made my debut as well. So, yeah, it's just kind of cool, coming back to where it all started.”
It was a meaningful day for everyone, but this was a true homecoming for Romano -- the Markham, Ontario, native who had only played for his hometown team before this year.
Through six seasons with the Blue Jays, Romano was a two-time All-Star (2022-23) and an absolute fan favorite, aptly fitting the role of Canadian sweetheart. His 26 consecutive saves in 2022 are still a franchise record, and his warmup lightshow remains a staple in these parts -- as evidenced by the in-game tribute and the loud ovation he got on Tuesday.
But elbow issues held Romano to 13 2/3 innings and a 6.59 ERA last year, and he was non-tendered at the end of the season.
“I was left open-mouthed,” Blue Jays reliever Yimi García said, in Spanish, of hearing that Romano wouldn’t return. “I thought he’d be one of the guys who would be back. But this is baseball. You never really know.”
García speaks with authority, dealt to the Mariners at last year’s Trade Deadline before re-signing with Toronto this offseason.
The efforts to rebuild the bullpen brought a prized new closer in Hoffman, who said he made it known that he wanted to stay with the Phillies but extension talks never got off the ground. The baseball gods -- or Dave Dombrowski -- worked their magic, and that’s where Romano ended up.
“He’s been such an awesome Canadian face for our franchise for so long,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider told MLB Network during the Winter Meetings. “I wish him nothing but the best. … It was hard to deliver that news to him.
“I just reached out to him today, locking in with the Phils, great spot to land. But what he did for us over the last three years is awesome.”
Schneider knows Romano better than most, coming up through three Minor League levels alongside Toronto’s 2014 10th-round Draft pick before reuniting with him in the Majors. He may have gotten to know Hoffman, too, had the Blue Jays not traded their 2014 first-rounder to the Rockies.
The parallels are 11 years in the making, so the comparisons are understandable.
“[Hoffman is] a little bit calmer. Jordan was probably the exact opposite,” Schneider said in Spring Training. “You’d probably want your daughter to marry him when he’s not on the mound, then you see him on the mound and you want to stay away from him. Hoffman is right in the middle, I think. He’s pretty consistent. He understands the situations and he likes being in those high-leverage spots.”
The mirror image doesn’t stop at personalities. This season has been filled with contrasts.
While Hoffman arrived in Toronto as the undisputed closer, Romano had to work for it. While Hoffman got off to a stellar start to the season, Romano struggled with “trying to do too much.” And while Hoffman ran into trouble in May, Romano seemed to find his form, climbing his way to more opportunities in a thin Phillies bullpen.
“He is a tremendous person, he really is,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. “Great teammate, treats everybody with respect. He’s a Canadian. He’s a good guy. But he’s a competitor, too.”
On the Blue Jays’ side, you’ll hear all that about Hoffman too -- minus the Canadian part.
The two closers got to swap back for a few moments, running to the field to catch up with old friends before first pitch. They were left with plenty to reflect on.
“I feel like I unlocked a lot of great things when I was there -- on the field, off the field, everything,” Hoffman said. “It's a great clubhouse of guys. I feel like it'll definitely bring a lot of emotion with it.”