Cardinals reportedly shopping lefty reliever who would be perfect fit with Guardians

One of the best ways for a low-budget team like the Guardians to make sure they can contend is by making floor-raising moves on the margins. 

One of the easiest ways for the Guardians to do that is by adding a middle-leverage arm to their bullpen, and, based on a new report, the Guardians have a great opportunity to nab one of those arms in the form of the St. Louis Cardinals’ JoJo Romero. 

The Cardinals turned heads across baseball on Tuesday by trading Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox, which seems like the first move ahead of a fire sale. We got more confirmation of that Tuesday when The Belleville News-Democrat’s Jeff Jones reported that Romero has been drawing plenty of trade interest this offseason.

Romero is a clear-cut trade candidate given that he’s a left-handed reliever who is coming off a strong season and is due for a raise in arbitration. He’s the kind of player that rebuilding teams almost always trade.

While Romero obviously wouldn’t usurp Cade Smith for the Guardians’ closer role, he could immediately slot into a high-leverage lefty role along with Erik Sabrowski. 

JoJo Romero would be a solid fit in the Guardians’ bullpen 

After 2 1/2 solid seasons in St. Louis’ bullpen, Romero officially broke out in 2025 and finished the year with a 2.07 ERA in 61 innings while racking up a career-high eight saves. While the Cardinals’ season didn’t end up going anywhere, he held down the fort both before and after they traded closer Ryan Helsely to the Mets. 

Romero has posted 3.00 ERA in 171 career innings during his time with the Cardinals. He began his career with 21 2/3 innings with the Phillies. 

While trading for a reliever may seem like a little steep considering the sheer amount of relievers available in free agency, Romero is arguably better than all of them and worth whatever his price would be in a trade. 

The left-handed reliever market is led by veterans Jalen Beeks, Danny Coulombe. Caleb Ferguson and Drew Pomeranz. While those are all okay options, none of them are on the same level as Romero. 

Despite having a fastball that sits at just 93 miles per hour and being in the bottom percentile in extension, Romero still finished last year in the 91st percentile in exit velocity and the 95th percentile in ground-ball rate. Having him pitch in front of the Guardians’ stellar infield defense would be a recipe for success.  

The Guardians have plenty of holes in their bullpen after losing Emmanuel Clase to non-disciplinary leave along with losing Jakob Junis, Kolby Allard and Nic Enright to free agency/non-tenders, and Romero would be the great fit. 

Chris Antonetti has already said that the bullpen will be a focus for the Guardians this offseason, and trading for Romero would be a win-win move, as it would not only fill one hole in the ‘pen but also offer a bit of hope for a fanbase starving for a meaningful addition.