The Reds have plenty of winter homework ahead of 2027, and one item on that list jumps out: finding a left-handed reliever who actually throws strikes. JoJo Romero, who is about to reach free agency after finishing the season with Milwaukee, looks like the kind of arm Cincinnati could use right away.
Romero’s 2026 path runs through both sides of the Central. He opened the year with the St.
Louis Cardinals, where he made 44 appearances and logged a 3.35 ERA while striking out 43 batters in 43 innings. After the deadline deal to the Brewers, he kept producing, posting a 3.38 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 11 innings.
The best version of Romero has shown up in October. In four postseason appearances, he has given up just one run on two hits across 5.1 innings, with one walk and nine strikeouts.
That kind of control would play in Cincinnati. The Reds had a brutal year on the mound when it came to command, finishing as the worst team in baseball with 668 walks allowed. Their relievers once walked seven straight Pirates in May, a stretch that summed up the frustration.
Romero’s walk rate is exactly why he stands out. He issued only 18 walks in 56.1 innings in 2026, which comes out to 2.9 walks per nine innings. That figure would have ranked third on the Reds’ bullpen, behind Emilio Pagan at 2.3 and Teejay Antone at 2.8.
And the fit gets even cleaner with Brock Burke heading toward free agency. If that happens, Cincinnati would have no left-handed relievers on the 40-man roster. For a club that needs bullpen help and better command, Romero checks a lot of boxes.
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Reds Prospects Are Creating Two Intriguing Roster Questions This Fall
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Jorge has already flashed the kind of athleticism that keeps attention on these winter leagues, while Luke Holman is making his own case in the Arizona Fall League with a run of solid outings. For Cincinnati, the broader picture is what matters now: which of these players can turn offseason reps into a real argument for a bigger role, and which paths are still going to take more time before they affect the major-league roster. [Read more 🡒]