Entering the 2012 season, Ricky Romero’s career looked to be on the upswing.  He’d compiled 42 wins and a 3.75 ERA over the past three seasons as the Toronto Blue Jay’s ace pitcher.  A former first-round draft choice, he’d overcome maddening inconsistency in the minors to become a four-pitch, command-oriented pitcher that’d improved with every season in the bigs.
Then 2012 happened.  Like much of his Blue Jays mates, the ‘12 season was forgettable, one that left him with lingering injuries, extreme command and control problems.  He finished the 2012 campaign with a staggering 5.77 ERA, a league high 105 BB against just 124 SOs in 181 innings.  His 2012 season included 13-straight losing decisions. One could only hope this was a one-time fluke, as his BABIP (.309) might have indicated.

In the offseason, Romero underwent minor elbow surgery and had plasma injections in his knees.  Thinking within the Blue Jays' camp was that Romero had underplayed the extent of his injuries in 2012 and would come back to camp for 2013 rested, relieved and ready to play a supporting role on what is now one of the AL’s best starting rotations.

Instead, Romero is nearing the end of spring training and his performance continues to raise doubts about his viability for the club’s 25 man roster.  In his most recent outing, against the Detroit Tiger’s AAA-squad, Romero posted the following line: five hits, five walks, four runs (all allowed), zero strikeouts and a two-run home run in two and one-third innings.

Yes, he’s looking lost. And the season is just one week away.

There’s increasing worry about Romero in the Blue Jays camp, and as his struggles persist, the pressures seem to be getting to the intense left-hander.  Romero’s mound presence seems weak - he’s stepping off the mound with greater frequency. He’s let the club tinker with his mechanics, as they’ve asked him to shift five inches towards third base on the pitching rubber in order for his delivery to be direct to home plate.  The changes have not helped, and the club has made it known they’ll be examining his final two spring outings to determine if he can make the trip to Toronto with the club for the regular season.

At this point, it looks as though Romero would benefit from an extended stay in Florida.  Leaving the team, with J.A. Happ to take his rotation spot, would allow Romero to focus on mechanical improvements and confidence building in an environment sans media and a clubhouse where he’s thought of himself as a leader.  His sudden fall-from-grace is not unprecedented, as the Blue Jays saw a young Roy Halladay go through similar growing pains and forced him to re-start his minor league journey in A-ball before progressively moving up the ranks. 

Romero has always had an unorthodox cross-body delivery and it seems to be unhinged.  He’s still young (28), so there’s hope that he can get re-composed and be a major leaguer again.  The Blue Jays will be well served to let Romero improve in Florida, while doing their club the favour of starting the season with Happ as their fifth starter.