Phillies Should Explore One Very Obvious Reunion

While the Philadelphia Phillies obviously need to add some offense this offseason, they also desperately need to address their bullpen.

The Phillies' relief pitching was a major problem down the stretch of 2026, with Alex McFarlane representing the only non-Jhoan Duran reliever that Don Mattingly could trust ... and he was just a rookie.

There is no question Philadelphia needs to make numerous additions to its pen, and I'm not talking about like last winter when Dave Dombrowski signed Brad Keller and then called it a day (that worked out well).

At the same time, though, I do not think the Phillies should splurge on relief pitching. I'm not a fan of the idea of giving nearly $100 million to Adrian Morejon, particularly considering how many other needs Philadelphia has.

The Phillies must pursue cost-effective solutions, and one perfect example of that is a familiar face: JoJo Romero.

Romero spent the first two-and-a-half years of his career in Philadelphia between 2020 and 2022, and things did not go well. Romero posted a 7.89 ERA across 25 relief appearances in Philly before being dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals for Edmundo Sosa.

Ever since then, however, Romero — who is currently pitching for the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series — has established himself as a very reliable relief arm.

He registered a 3.07 ERA over parts of five seasons in St. Louis, and while wasn't necessarily electrifying, he got the job done.

Romero was then traded to the Brewers midway through 2026, and in 11 regular-season contests for Milwaukee, he logged a 3.38 ERA.

On the season overall, the 30-year-old pitched to the tune of a 3.36 ERA and 1.246 WHIP, averaging 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

Romero's peripheral numbers have never been pretty. He has never been a big strikeout guy (lifetime 8.6 K/9), and he does allow baserunners (career 1.229 WHIP). However, he generates ground balls at an impressive rate (53.1 percent), and he has always had a penchant for pitching out of jams.

The crafty left-hander probably wouldn't be overly expensive on the open market, with Spotrac projecting him to land a four-year, $26.7 million contract.

And to be quite frank, I don't even anticipate that Romero will land a deal of that length given his age. Maybe he gets three years, but I don't think he'll get four.

Regardless, Romero is the exact type of reliable late-inning arm that the Phillies could use. Exploring a reunion would be wise.