Before Thriving in NLCS, Lefty Reliever Evolved as a Reliever with Cards

A native of Camarillo, Calif., and someone who had dreamed his whole life about getting to pitch at Dodgers Stadium, JoJo Romero finally got that chance in September of 2022 – not long after the St. Louis Cardinals acquired him in a trade from the Philadelphia Phillies.

Naturally, Romero had reams of family and friends hitting him up for tickets to the game, and he was more than happy to oblige with as many freebies as he could get his hands on. Only, there was one catch.

Rather than getting tickets for family and friends behind home plate or near the Cardinals’ dugout, Romero instead strategically placed his loved ones not too far away from him.

“I got them all seats out near the bullpen in right field,” Romero said with a smile. “I’m not sure if that’s what they wanted, but I wanted them close to me.”

Fast forward to 2026, and the National League Championship Series between the dynastic Dodgers and the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers and Romero found him back out in that same bullpen beyond the right field fence at Dodgers Stadium. This time around, the stakes were much higher, but Romero’s performance played out like a dream once again.

Romero entered the game in the fifth inning, after Milwaukee furiously fought back to tie it at four, and the lefty reliever proceeded to mow down future Hall of Famers Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Feddie Freeman in order.

Romero used a hard-breaking sweeper to catch the outside corner to catch Ohtani looking for a strikeout. In his five seasons with the Cardinals, Romero had faced the four-time MVP eight times and he surrendered just one hit, while striking out Ohtani four times. Romero, who was acquired by the Brewers in a trade with the Cardinals just for these kinds of spots, struck out Ohtani in both of their battles in the playoffs.

Back out for the sixth inning following Garrett Mitchell’s solo homer that put Milwaukee up 5-4, Romero pitched around a double by Kyle Tucker by getting Teoscar Hernandez to ground out and striking out Max Muncy on a dazzling sweeper nearly a foot off the plate.

When the Brewers held on for a 6-4 victory, it was Romero – the suburban-LA kid who watched Dodgers’ games on TV while growing up and reveled in the stories about Fernando Valenzuela – who was credited with the win. It was the second playoff win of his career – both coming against the Dodgers, the team he followed which growing up 55 miles from Dodger Stadium.

Romero started his career in Philadelphia, where he was known mostly for crushing Red Bull cans against his skull before entering games as a reliever. In St. Louis, Romero finally reached his potential as a pitcher, racking up 87 holds and 12 saves while pitching for the Cardinals over pasts of five seasons.

Romero’s stellar pitching in the NLCS against the Dodgers was quite a recovery for the left-hander, who three months earlier was lying in the floor and curled into a ball because of the searing pain in his abdomen. Romero had pitched the day before, limiting the Braves to one hit and one unearned run in a Cardinals victory. However, the start to Romero’s All-Star break was off to a rough beginning and he arrived at the hospital in St. Louis just as his appendix was rupturing and he was rushed into emergency surgery.

As it turns out, Romero would never pitch for the Cardinals again. It was no coincidence that the Cardinals’ bullpen started collapsing just as the veteran left-hander with the wipeout sweeper was on the shelf and trying to recover from the appendicitis.

With the Cardinals losing their first six series out of the MLB All-Star Game – many of those losses occurring when a bullpen sans Romero was missing – the club made the decision to sell at the MLB Trade Deadline. Ultimately Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom made the somewhat awkward decision to trade within the division and with the rival Brewers, who sought to fortify their staring staff and bullpen in hopes of dethroning the Dodgers.

On Aug. 3, the Cardinals dealt Dustin May and Romero for two long-range prospects who further strengthened their Minor League system. However, the impact of Romero’s absence could be seen in a variety of ways over a second half where the Cardinals struggled badly. One area where the Cards missed Romero: Their pitching staff had the National League’s fifth-best ERA before the All-Star break (4.13), but just the 12th-best ERA in the NL after the All-Star break (4.45).

Romero, who will be a free agent following the World Series, could return to the rebuilding Cardinals if they are willing to meet salary demands that are expected to be sky-high for the crafty lefty with the success against Ohtani, Freeman and the Dodgers.