The Baltimore Orioles bolstered their pitching depth by acquiring right-hander Shane Baz from the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, but they’re not done yet. The Orioles have their eyes on St. Louis Cardinals reliever JoJo Romero, via The St. Louis Dispatch’s Derrick Goold.
“Lefty JoJo Romero and infielder Brendan Donovan continue to be popular trade targets for teams,” he wrote. “Romero will be a free agent a year from now, while Donovan, the Cardinals’ lone All-Star, has two years of control remaining before free agency.”
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“As a run on lefty relievers began in recent days, the Baltimore Orioles were one of the teams shopping with potential interest in Romero,” he continued. “The [New York] Yankees and [Seattle] Mariners among others have also had some contact with the Cardinals about Romero.”
Romero went 4-6 with a 2.07 ERA over 65 outings for St. Louis in 2025. The 29-year-old also had eight saves out of nine opportunities along with 24 holds.
Romero is scheduled to make $5.8 million in 2026, which is his final arbitration season, per Spotrac.
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St. Louis Cardinals pitcher JoJo Romero. © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
Given that Romero is slated for free agency after next season, it would make sense for Baltimore to offer him a contract extension if it trades for him. It could also wait to do it midseason or even let him hit the open market next winter, but that would be risky if it’s interested in him long term.
Romero’s track record suggests that he’ll be reliable over the coming years. The 5-foot-11, 215-pounder has a 3.55 ERA and 64 holds over 197 career outings. He’s also allowed three earned runs per nine innings since the Cardinals acquired him in 2022.
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Furthermore, Romero won’t be one of the more expensive relievers in baseball unless he has an All-Star level season next year. It would be best for the Orioles to extend him now before a possible breakout campaign in 2026.
Either way, Baltimore must outbid the Yankees and Mariners before getting to that step. The club just gave up its Nos. 6, 10, 11, and 30 prospects as well as the No. 33 overall pick in the 2026 Competitive Balance Round A Draft for Baz, per MLB.com, so it has fewer assets to offer than it did to start the offseason.
Even if the Orioles don’t land Romero, they did add fellow relievers Ryan Helsley (2.96 career ERA) and Andrew Kittredge (3.43 career ERA) this offseason.