Enny Manuel Romero Hernandez (born January 24, 1991) is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

SSG Landers SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a member of the KBO League. ...

of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). He previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

, Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals and in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

Professional career

Tampa Bay Rays

Romero represented the Rays at the 2012 All-Star Futures Game. He was added to the Rays' 40-man roster on November 20, 2012. Romero was called up to start against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

on September 22, 2013. After spending the entirety of the 2014 season in the minor leagues, Romero returned to major league action in the 2015 season as a reliever, pitching 30 innings for the Rays on the year. Starting the 2016 season, Romero retired 17 consecutive batters across relief appearances to set a franchise record for the Rays. Romero notched his first career save on August 25, 2016, striking out slugger David Ortiz to seal a Rays victory over the division rival

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. In total, Romero pitched to a 5.27 ERA over 80⅓ innings with the Rays across three seasons, exhibiting a high walk rate of about five batters per nine innings.

Washington Nationals

The Rays traded Romero to the

for minor league pitcher Jeffrey Rosa on February 7, 2017. Romero pitched for the

Dominican Republic national baseball team The Dominican Republic national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de República Dominicana'') is the national baseball team of the Dominican Republic. The team has won the Baseball World Cup in 1948 and World Baseball Classic in 201 ...

in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, earning the win in a March 12 game against Colombia with a scoreless inning of relief. He joined the Nationals at spring training after the initial round of the WBC. With the Nationals, Romero quickly became a key cog in manager

Dusty Baker Johnnie B. "Dusty" Baker Jr. (born June 15, 1949) is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Houston Astros in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in the MLB for 19 seasons, most notably with the Lo ...

's bullpen as it struggled to find its footing over the first half of the season, going through three closers before Baker decided to handle the ninth inning by committee. While Romero continued to walk batters at an above-average rate, as he had with Tampa Bay, his strikeout rate climbed and his earned run average declined relative to what it had been with the Rays. He was frequently deployed to handle the eighth and even the ninth inning. Romero began the 2018 season on the Nationals′ roster, but in two appearances posted a 13.50 ERA in two innings of work. The Nationals designated him for assignment on April 7, 2018.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On April 14, 2018, the Pittsburgh Pirates claimed Romero off waivers. He appeared in two games for the Pirates, hitting a double in his first at-bat, but in the four innings he pitched he gave up five runs, three of them unearned, on seven hits, giving him an ERA with Pittsburgh of 7.50. In order to make room on their roster for the major-league debut of pitching prospect

Nick Kingham Nicholas Gordon Kingham (born November 8, 1991) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Toronto Blue Jays, in the KBO League for the SK Wyverns and Hanwha ...

, the Pirates initially decided to designate Romero for assignment on April 29, but within hours changed their minds after Romero and his agent informed them that Romero had injured his shoulder while pitching on April 25. The Pirates instead opted to place him on the 10-day disabled list. He was designated for assignment on July 2.

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals claimed Romero off waivers on July 5, 2018. On July 21, 2018, he was designated for assignment. On July 26, 2018, Romero elected to become a free agent.

Chunichi Dragons

On December 3, 2018, it was announced that Romero had signed with the

in the NPB's

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

. On April 4, 2019, Romero made his NPB debut. After the season, he re-signed with Dragons. On December 2, 2020, he became a free agent.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On January 14, 2021, Romero signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

organization that included an invitation to major league Spring Training. He was released on April 4, 2021.

Chiba Lotte Marines

On August 10, 2021, Romero signed with the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural ...

. He became a free agent following the 2022 season.

SSG Landers

On December 12, 2022, Romero signed with the

of the Korea Baseball Organization.

Pitching style

Romero's main weapon is a blazing

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

, which he threw in the high 90s while in the

organization but which began routinely hitting the century mark in 2017, beginning at the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Lea ...

. In a July 2017 game with the

, Romero hit with his fastball in a strikeout of

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

star

Freddie Freeman Frederick Charles Freeman (born September 12, 1989) is an American-Canadian professional baseball first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, Freeman played for the Atlanta Braves for 12 seasons. He mad ...

. Romero also mixes in a cutter that rides in at about , as well as an occasional curveball. Perhaps the most notable drawback in Romero's game throughout his professional career has been a lack of command, with a high walk rate coloring his time in Tampa Bay. During 2017 spring training with the Nationals, a MASN Sports beat reporter noted that he appeared to have made adjustments allowing him to better locate his pitches, and Romero exhibited improved command into the 2017 season.

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp

- Chiba Lotte Marines Official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Enny 1991 births Living people Altoona Curve players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Bradenton Marauders players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Chunichi Dragons players Chiba Lotte Marines players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Rays players Durham Bulls players Gulf Coast Rays players Hudson Valley Renegades players Indianapolis Indians players Kansas City Royals players Leones del Escogido players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Montgomery Biscuits players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Pittsburgh Pirates players Princeton Rays players Sportspeople from Santo Domingo Tampa Bay Rays players Washington Nationals players World Baseball Classic players of the Dominican Republic 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players