Jordan Romano Redemption Meter: A Jeff Hoffman meltdown in Toronto has Dave Dombrowski looking like a genius

What a difference a few weeks made for the Jordan Romano Redemption Meter.

Back in April, it looked like the Phillies whiffed hard on their bullpen retool. Jeff Hoffman — the guy they let walk — was dominating in Toronto, posting a 1.17 ERA with six saves.

Jordan Romano — the guy they signed to replace him — was imploding on the mound in Philly with an ERA over 12 and a command issue that made him unwatchable.

By the end of April, Hoffman looked like a smart long-term investment, and Romano looked like the biggest Dombrowski miss since Jeurys Familia.

The Jordan Romano Redemption Meter has Flipped the Script

Since the start of May, Romano’s been nails. He’s locked in, striking out hitters, throwing strikes, and, most importantly, not blowing games. After shutting the door on Thursday in a 2-0 win to complete a sweep of the Rockies, Romano now has a scoreless streak of nine innings with 10 strikeouts and just three hits allowed.

Ranger Suárez shoves, Phillies sweep Rockies to extend win streak to 7-games

Meanwhile, Jeff Hoffman is melting down in Toronto. His ERA has skyrocketed to 6.04, he’s given up 13 runs in six May innings, and he just coughed up his third blown save of the month — a two-run bomb to Gavin Sheets that turned a 4-2 Blue Jays lead into a blown opportunity.

Here’s where the numbers stand heading into Memorial Day weekend:

Pitcher	ERA	Innings	Strikeouts	Saves	W-L
Jordan Romano	6.87	18.1	22	6	0-1
Jeff Hoffman	6.04	22.1	34	10	4-2

On paper, those ERAs are still ugly, but Romano has shaved nearly five runs off his ERA this month, while Hoffman has ballooned his by the same margin.

One’s trending up. One’s crashing hard.

Jordan Romano’s May resurgence couldn’t have come at a better time, either. José Alvarado is gone for the next 80 games — and the postseason — after a PED suspension.

That left a massive hole in the bullpen, especially against left-handed hitters. And with Orion Kerkering showing some cracks (4.00 ERA in May), Jordan Romano suddenly becoming reliable again is keeping this thing from unraveling.

Dave Dombrowski gets to breathe a little.

Sure, the bullpen is still shaky overall — it ranks 21st in MLB, even behind the 8-win Rockies — but at least the Romano gamble isn’t looking like a complete disaster anymore.

Plus, Dombo reportedly tried to keep Hoffman, but medical concerns scared off other teams and Hoffman took Toronto’s deal after Atlanta and Baltimore bailed.

Now it’s the Phillies with the most wins in the National League and Romano closing out games. Funny how that works. Sometimes patience pays off. If Romano keeps pitching like this, Dombrowski might look like a genius again by October.

Join The Chase