Kansas City Royals: Royals claim Enny Romero off waivers

The Kansas City Royals are busy again on the waiver wire. Enny Romero is the latest acquisition the Royals have made this year via the waiver wire. Is this going to have similar results?

In a late evening move, the Kansas City Royals acquired Enny Romero off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. In connection with the move, Blaine Boyer was moved to the 60-day DL.

With this move happening, what can we expect as fans? Nothing can be worse than what Boyer has done so far this year for the Royals, right?

Romero’s interesting 2018 season

When you look at Romero’s numbers this year, it is hard to get a good read on him. Reason being, the Royals will be his third team this year. He started the year with the Washington Nationals and was picked off waivers in April by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now, the Royals have done the same to the Pirates.

Romero has made four appearances this year for a total of 6.0 innings. During that time, his has posted a 7.50 ERA and seven strikeouts to four walks (two intentional walks too). Needless to say, his small sample size of MLB number’s aren’t great this year.

What could also have lead to his lack of numbers is his injury this year. On April 29th, Romero was placed on the DL with a left shoulder impingement. What the Pirates probably didn’t anticipate was he was on the DL until June 12th when he was sent on his rehab assignment.

During his rehab starts, Romero has thrown in eight games and had a 5.14 ERA over his 7.0 innings. His seven strikeouts to six walks (one intentional) also don’t help his case.

So why the intrigue?

First off, everything I’ve shown you is better than what Boyer has done this year. Secondly, the Royals really can’t hurt themselves any more than they already have, so why not?

Last, his 2017 was actually really nice. He made 53 appearances for the Nationals, posting a 3.56 ERA over 55.2 innings. He also struck out 65 batters compared to 23 walks. That type of production would be welcomed in Kansas City, especially with how bad the bullpen has been.

He is also someone that can throw the ball very hard. His fastball this year has averaged close to 96mph, but in recent years his fastball has touched 97mph-98mph. His offspeed pitches are in the high 80s and he has a cutter that sits at around 89mph. While he has thrown a fastball, cutter, slider, changeup, and curveball this year, he is typically a fastball/cutter/curveball pitcher.

Final Thoughts

While I personally would much rather see the Royals use some of their minor league guys, instead of going to the waiver wire, I can kind of see where the Royals are coming from here. If Romero can recover his 2017 self, the Royals have another waiver wire gem (Rosell Herrera being the other). However, 2017 was a career year for Romero. His previous two years saw him post a 5.10 ERA in 2015 and a 5.91 ERA in 2016.

Next: Heath Fillmyer has been impressive

This is definitely not a move to get excited about. This could very well be a bullpen arm the Royals don’t even use this year, and if they do the expectations should be very low. To me, I feel like using Richard Lovelady, Jake Newberry, or even Josh Staumont would have been the better move. To me, Romero doesn’t seem like a “fix” but more of a band-aid. But, he is under contract through 2021, so they get to try him out and see. Who knows, maybe I’m wrong.

What do you think Royals fans? Another bland addition to the Royals? What are your expectations? Let us know below!