Romano gets first All-Star nod after winding journey

TORONTO -- Another day, another All-Star for the Blue Jays, as Jordan Romano has been named to the Midsummer Classic as a replacement.

The Canadian closer picked up his 20th save in Sunday's 4-2 win, taking the American League lead into the All-Star break to go with a 2.65 ERA and 39 strikeouts over 34 innings. This is Romano’s first All-Star Game, but the 29-year-old has spent the past three seasons as one of baseball’s most consistent back-end arms.

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One day after the Blue Jays coaching staff called an 11:45 a.m. meeting to notify Santiago Espinal that he’d been named a replacement, Romano got word this morning that the team would be meeting at 10:55.

“Honestly, I really didn’t think anything of it,” Romano said. “I thought it was going to be like, ‘We have the All-Star break coming up but let’s really focus on today.’ But then I sat down and Tim Mayza had grabbed one of the All-Star bags and he said, ‘Romano, you’re going to need one of these where you’re going.’ He gives it to me and the whole team went crazy.”

The Romano you see pacing the bullpen and attacking hitters in the ninth inning is a different man from the one who coaches and teammates know in the clubhouse and away from the field. Romano is calm and cool -- so laid-back that he might tip over -- and that personality has made him a favorite among fans.

Less than 30 minutes after hearing the news, he was quick to to share the credit around.

“It’s really special. The coaches have put a lot of work in with me, through [bullpen coach Matt] Buschmann, [pitching coach] Pete [Walker], [interim manager] Schneider and the whole staff,” Romano said. “To see their hard work and my hard work pay off together, it’s really special. I called my parents and my fiancé, and it’s surreal.

"I’ve always wanted to go to an All-Star Game. It’s not the ultimate goal, but it’s a goal, and to be picked is really special.”

It’s been a remarkable journey for Romano, and anything but linear.

Drafted in the 10th round in 2014 out of Oral Roberts University where he closed games, Romano began his Minor League career as a reliever, but missed the 2015 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and eventually returned as a starter.

He hit a plateau as a starter, though, and eventually pivoted back to the bullpen, where he now stars. Along the way, Romano was selected by the White Sox in the 2018 Rule 5 Draft, sold to the Rangers and later returned to the Blue Jays just prior to the 2019 season.

Oh, what could have been.

“This just shows that if you really try to do things the right way and put in the work, it might not always work out, but in this case it has,” Romano said. “Even if it doesn’t, if you do things the right way, you’re OK with it either way. I try to do things the right way and work hard and it’s nice that it’s paying off a little bit, because sometimes it doesn’t.”

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Romano will be joined in L.A. by Espinal, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk and Alek Manoah. George Springer was also named an All-Star, giving the Blue Jays six, but he has chosen not to play in the game and will instead rest through the break for the second half.