DALLAS – The Phillies have agreed to a one-year contract, up to a physical deal, with free agent reliever Jordan Romano, filling a late-inning bullpen hole with a right-hander who will play 95 games in 2021-23 saved the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Phillies’ top offseason needs are help in the outfield and bullpen. They lost Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez to free agency and needed more to complement backups Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering.

Dave Dombrowski and the Phils front office arrived at the Hilton Anatole this weekend and checked Romano off their list. PHLY’s Jim Salisbury first reported early Monday afternoon that a deal was imminent.

Romano posted a 2.37 ERA from 2021 to 2023 and was Toronto’s worst hitter. In the four seasons ending in 2024, his opponents hit just .172.

He missed a lot of time last season as he was unable to pitch after May 29 due to problems with his right elbow. He was on the injured list twice, received multiple cortisone shots and underwent arthroscopic surgery for an elbow injury in early July.

The Phillies are betting on him to bounce back. The Blue Jays non-tendered Romano on Nov. 22 rather than go through the arbitration process, where he would likely earn between $7.5 million and $8 million.

Romano throws exclusively a four-seam fastball and a slider, with the heater averaging 97 and the slider averaging in the upper 80s. He was originally drafted by the Blue Jays in the 10th round in 2014 out of Oral Roberts University, but was selected by the White Sox in the Rule 5 draft, acquired by the Rangers and ultimately returned to the Blue Jays where he a two-time All-Star.