Yankees started snowball effect that just got Angels reliever DFA'd

The most vengeful of New York Yankees fans might best remember Jordan Romano as the guy who beat out a much-better-performing reliever version of Michael King for AL reliever of the month in April of 2022. That was the start of the then-Toronto Blue Jays reliever's rise, with him earning the first of his two All-Star selections.

Following 2023, things began to unravel for Romano. The Angels signed Romano for just one-year, $2 million over the winter as injuries and poor performance ravaged the right-hander in both 2024 and 2025.

Romano seemed to be on the comeback trail to begin the season with the Angels. From Opening Day through April 6, he had made six appearances without allowing an earned run, posting a 12.60 K/9 and four saves. Then he had a week-long layoff and came to New York, where the wheels fell off.

The Yankees may have ended Jordan Romano's career

Romano wasn't needed for a while, but when he took the mound on April 13 with a 10-8 lead, trying to nail down the victory in the bottom of the ninth, he quickly unraveled. Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled to right to lead off the inning. Trent Grisham followed with a game-tying two-run homer. Jose "The Ultimate Pest" Caballero continued his clutch ways with a double and then stole third.

From there, Austin Wells would walk, and Ryan McMahon would follow with another free pass, with ball four going wild and allowing Caballero to score on a walk-off wild pitch. The shellshocked Romano didn't record a single out.

He'd try for a do-over on April 15, this time protecting a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the ninth. He induced a pop-up from Chisholm Jr., which should have been the second out of the inning, but Oswald Peraza and Zach Neto channeled their inner Luis Castillo and let the ball drop.

That was all the Yankees needed. Chisholm stole second and Wells walked, bringing up Caballero again. This time, the shortstop rocketed a double to center that scored Chisholm and Wells for a walk-off 5-4 victory.

From the time he first stepped on the mound in the Bronx in 2026 until his final outing on April 25, Romano allowed nine earned runs in over just three innings pitched. The Angels had seen enough. They gave him his walking papers on April 26. The Yankees were his undoing.

If there's any consolation for the now-former Angels closer, it's that Los Angeles immediately blew yet another save the same day they cut him loose. It's a small silver lining, though.

It's hard to see another club giving the 33-year-old a shot. This is now the third year in a row that he's shown he can't be relied upon. He also has a lengthy injury history to contend with. That second point makes his 2026 dip in velocity, down to 94.7 miles per hour from 95.4 miles per hour last season and 96.6 in 2024, all the more concerning. The Yankees caused him to go off the rails, and as a result, they might have just ended his career.

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