What does the Philadelphia Phillies’ signing of Jordan Romano mean for the rest of their bullpen?

On Monday, the Phillies inked the former two-time American League All-Star to a one-year contract, shortly after he had been non-tendered by his old team, the Toronto Blue Jays.

It’s a low-risk signing because of the short tenure, but it’s a high-risk signing if the Phillies intend to make Romano the closer. And most importantly, it could spell the end of Philadelphia’s pursuit to keep one of their best relievers over the past two years.

Jeff Hoffman, who came to the Phillies after the Cincinnati Reds non-tendered him before the 2023 season, was brilliant in his two Phillies seasons. However, now that the 2024 All-Star is set up to make a windfall in free agency, he could be heading out of town.

Could Hoffman even swap places with Romano? Chris Landers of FanSided recently urged the Blue Jays to target Hoffman this winter, possibly even to become the fifth member of their starting rotation.

“Jordan Romano is off the Philadelphia Phillies, throwing into even starker relief just how badly the Jays need to find bullpen help this winter. It’s going to take multiple moves to rebuild Toronto’s relief corps, but the first of them should be, ironically enough, a former Phillie in Hoffman,” Landers said.

“He’d immediately give Toronto the high-octane back-end option it desperately needs right now — or, potentially, a back of the rotation option, should the Jays opt to go the Clay Holmes route with a pitcher who was once upon a time a top-10 pick in the 2014 MLB Draft as a starter.”

It’s fairly certain Hoffman will cost a lot more than Romano, with Tim Britton of The Athletic currently projecting him for a three-year, $36 million deal. Holmes got $38 million from the New York Mets, so Hoffman, who outpitched Holmes in 2024, will likely surpass that number, too.