Phillies Mailbag: Romano’s Struggles, Marsh, Sosa

We are back once again with the 97.3 ESPN Phillies Mailbag.  The Phillies have won their first three series and take on NL East foe the Atlanta Braves next.   We take your questions and answer them on The Sports Bash with Mike Gill.  Tune in each day to hear your questions answered on the air.

The Phillies have three high leverage spot options in the bullpen right now. Jordan Romano is killing this pen and can't be trusted. Is it possible to make a move now as opposed to closer to the trade deadline to firm up the pen? Dave Dombrowski has to be concerned right? 
~Greg

It's very fair to say that the Phillies number one relief acquisition, Jordan Romano,  is leaking oil in the early going.   After finishing nine Spring Training appearances with a 0.00 ERA, Romano is struggling to put together clean innings now that the regular season has kicked in.  And it is a concern.

The big concern is that Romano's velocity is down.  When Romano was an All-Star closer, his fastball averaged 96+ miles per hour.  He currently is 3-4 miles per hour less than that.  And that's a big difference in today's game where high velocity relievers are the norm.

Making it worse, when Romano allows baserunners, his high leg kick in his delivery leads to a good amount of stolen bases, exacerbating a tough inning.

The good news is that the Phillies were able to overcome his toughest games so far.  And there is time to tell if he will be able to figure it out or not.

Romano represented a risk when they signed him; they knew that he was not the same pitcher in 2024 that he was back in 2022 and 2023 with the Blue Jays.  It was a roll of the dice, in some ways.

But Greg is correct: the Phillies have other high-leverage options. Jose Alvarado and Matt Strahm have been able to get lefties and righties out in their top seasons.  And it seems that Orion Kerkering can come along some more if necessary.

I am a Joe Ross fan, and I think he could work his way further back in the bullpen.

If I am the Phillies, I would see if Romano could work his way through this in low-leverage situations.

The deadline is still far away; I would guess that Dave Dombrowski will do what he needs to do when the day comes.

How much longer will Brandon Marsh get the opportunity to start?
~Tim

The Phillies went into the 2025 season giving Brandon Marsh the opportunity to start every day.  That means the end of a platoon, with Marsh facing both righties and lefties.  So far he is off to a tough start.

Through the first nine games, Marsh is batting just .174 in 23 at bats.  It's a small sample size, but Marsh is batting .222 against lefties to just .143 against righties - the side of the platoon he is supposed to hit best.

It is still early.  The reason it's a batting *average* is that there are ups and downs throughout the course of the season.  I think it's no more likely that Marsh improves upon the .174 than Edmundo Sosa will continue hitting .550 throughout the season.

The best way to work out of a funk is to have at bats.  Marsh will face a tough lefty tonight in Chris Sale.   But Marsh will have to hit against the good teams and those further down in the standings alike if he wishes to keep the job.

Meanwhile at Triple-A, Justin Crawford is hitting .286 and has four stolen bases.  Crawford will be worth watching as time goes on.

How can the Phillies get Edmundo Sosa more at bats?
~Tony

As I mentioned, Sosa is batting .550 on the season in the early going. That will not be sustainable of course, but I think the Phillies might be wise to get Sosa some at bats.  One real tell was something that happened during Saturday's loss to the Dodgers.

Sosa pinch-hit for Brandon Marsh late in the game.  I thought that Johan Rojas might trot out to center field after that at bat.  But alas - the Phillies put Sosa in center field, something I just mentioned last week that I was surprised they did not try.

I would be sure that Sosa is in the lineup against Sale tonight.  I would not want to make a habit of taking Bryson Stott out of the lineup, as he is doing well.  But I would think tonight would be a good day to get a lefty a day off.

Could it be in center field?

I pondered aloud why the likes of Rodolfo Castro got a bunch of time in center field this Spring and Sosa did not.  But now that the roster is the roster, maybe that is how Sosa finds his way into the lineup more often.

Max Kepler will need a day off now and then, though the lefty bat tends to hit better against lefties than righties.

I think the hot start calls for Sosa to play more.  I would try center field for a start and see how it goes.