The Giants announced their list of non-roster invitees to major league camp this afternoon. Lefty Enny Romero was among that group. According to the MLB.com transaction tracker, he signed a minor league deal with San Francisco last month.
Romero, who recently turned 34, returns to affiliated ball after sitting out two seasons. The southpaw last pitched a full season in 2022, when he turned in a 3.36 earned run average across 115 2/3 innings for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan. Romero’s only professional experience since then has been winter ball in his native Dominican Republic. While he struggled to a 5.17 ERA during the 2023-24 offseason, he had an excellent showing this winter. Romero pitched to a 1.24 mark over 10 starts.
San Francisco’s evaluators were intrigued enough by Romero’s form to give him a look in camp. The southpaw has pitched in five MLB seasons, though he hasn’t reached the majors since 2018. He was a pure reliever during his early-career work, most of which came with the Rays and Nationals. The 6’3″ hurler has a 5.12 ERA across 146 big league innings. He fanned a league average 23.4% of opponents against a lofty 11.1% walk rate.
Romero has worked as a starter in Japan and in the Dominican Republic, so it’s possible the Giants will keep him stretched out at Triple-A Sacramento. If he gets a major league look, it’d be likelier in low-leverage relief. The Giants only have one lefty reliever on their 40-man roster: Erik Miller. They’re bringing a handful of left-handers to camp on non-roster contracts. Joey Lucchesi, Raymond Burgos, Miguel Del Pozo, Ethan Small and Helcris Olivarez are also among those who’ll be in Spring Training.
