Luis Miguel Romero (born April 23, 1994) is a Cuban

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 ...

who is currently a free agent.

Professional career

Romero played for

Guantánamo Guantánamo (, , ) is a municipality and city in southeast Cuba and capital of Guantánamo Province. Guantánamo is served by the Caimanera port near the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, site of a U.S. naval base. The area produces sugarcane and cotton ...

in the

Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, SNB) is the primary domestic professional baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. ...

from 2012 to 2016. He signed with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

as an international free agent on February 1, 2017. Romero's first affiliated season was split between the rookie-level

AZL Athletics The Arizona Complex League Athletics are a Minor League Baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, which plays as a Rookie-level team in the Arizona Complex League and has served as a farm team for the Oakland Athletics organization since 1988. They ...

, the Single-A

Beloit Snappers The Beloit Sky Carp are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Beloit, Wisconsin, and play their home games at ABC Supply Stadium. They previously played at Harry C ...

, and the High-A

Stockton Ports The Stockton Ports are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Stockton, California, and are named for the city's seaport. The team plays its home games at Ba ...

, where he accumulated a 4.88 ERA in 14 total appearances. In 2018, Romero split the year between Stockton and the Double-A

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, whic ...

, pitching to a 3.94 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 59.1 innings pitched across 44 appearances. Romero spent the 2019 season with the Triple-A

Las Vegas Aviators The Las Vegas Aviators, formerly known as the Las Vegas 51s and Las Vegas Stars, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Summerlin South, Nevad ...

, recording a 3.96 ERA with 81 strikeouts across 45 contests. Romero did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The Athletics added him to their 40-man roster following the 2020 season on November 20, 2020 to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Romero was assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas in 2021, but struggled to a 6.27 ERA in 28 appearances for the team. On September 8, 2021, Romero was promoted to the major leagues for the first time after

A. J. Puk Andrew Jacob Puk ( ; born April 25, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics. He played college baseball for the Florida ...

was optioned to Triple-A. However, he spent 13 days on the active roster without appearing in a game and was optioned back to Triple-A on September 21 following

Michael Feliz Michael Feliz (born June 28, 1993) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red ...

's addition to the roster. This earned him the distinction of being a

phantom ballplayer A phantom ballplayer is either a baseball player who is incorrectly listed in source materials as playing in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, often the result of typographical or clerical errors, or a player who spent time on an MLB Major Leag ...

, having spent time on the major league team's active roster without having a major league appearance. On March 27, 2022, it was announced that Romero would be optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas to begin the 2022 season. He was designated for assignment by Oakland on April 21. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A on April 23. He spent the remainder of the year with the Aviators, struggling to a 7.76 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 53.1 innings pitched across 38 appearances. In 2023, Romero's struggles continued, as he worked to a 6.60 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 15.0 innings of work across 14 contests. He was released by the Athletics organization on May 23, 2023.

International career

Romero pitched for Team Cuba in the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

. In the Classic, he posted a 2.08 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with 13 strikeouts, leading all pitchers in WBC play. Following the tournament, Romero was named to the All-

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 Leagu ...

Team.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Miguel Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Cuban expatriate baseball players in Puerto Rico Arizona League Athletics players Beloit Snappers players Cuban expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Dominican Summer League Athletics players Gigantes de Carolina (baseball) players Indios de Guantanamo players Indios de Mayagüez players Las Vegas Aviators players Mesa Solar Sox players Midland RockHounds players Stockton Ports players 1994 births Living people 2023 World Baseball Classic players