Seth Daniel Romero (born April 19, 1996) is an American

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 a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He played for the

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 ...

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) during the 2020 season. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

Cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...

and was drafted by the Nationals in the first round of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

Career

Amateur career

Romero attended

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

West Columbia, Texas West Columbia is a city in Brazoria County in the U.S. state of Texas. The city is centered on the intersection of Texas Highways 35 & 36, southwest of downtown Houston. The population was 3,644 at the 2020 census. The 1st Congress of the Republi ...

. As a senior, he had a 1.35

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) with 131

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

over 62 innings. He was not drafted coming out of high school and attended the

where he played

for the

. As a freshman at Houston in 2015, Romero appeared in 22 games and made eight starts. He had a 7–4 record with a 1.94 ERA, 92 strikeouts and seven saves. Prior to his sophomore season in 2016, he was suspended indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team", described in media reports as poor physical conditioning. He returned from the suspension after missing two starts, crediting his weight loss to the work of Houston strength and conditioning coach Ryan Deatrick, and appeared in 15 games with 13 starts. He finished 6–4 with a 2.29 ERA and 113 strikeouts. As a junior in April 2017, Romero was suspended by the team for a second time, reportedly after failing a drug test, missing curfew, and being photographed in uniform holding a bong. At the time of the suspension, he was 3–3 with a 3.03 ERA and was leading the nation with 76 strikeouts. He was re-instated in May. However, Romero played just two games after being reinstated before he was dismissed from the team. ''

The Houston Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'' reported Romero had been involved in a fight with a teammate, precipitating his final dismissal from the team after a series of previous disciplinary incidents.

Professional career

The

selected Romero with 25th overall choice in the

2017 MLB Draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

. He signed with the team on July 7, reportedly accepting an over-slot $2.8 million signing bonus. While the Nationals' scouting director said he believed Romero's "stuff" could immediately be effective in

, the team's general manager,

Mike Rizzo Michael Rizzo, is an American DJ, record producer and remixer from New York City, active since the early 1990s. He is well known for working with various artists such as Jennifer Green and Sun, all of whom scored hits on both '' Billboard's Ho ...

, said he did not expect Romero to make his major league debut in the 2017 season. Romero was assigned to the

GCL Nationals The Florida Complex League Nationals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Washington Nationals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Nationals. The ...

, and after one scoreless appearance, was promoted to the

Auburn Doubledays The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York. From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) ...

where he posted a 5.40 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 20 innings to finish the season. Ranked as the fifth-best Nationals prospect before the 2018 season, Romero was placed on the Nationals' early camp roster for spring training that year. However, he was ordered to leave camp on March 5 for reportedly violating team policy. On June 6, he was reinstated and assigned to the

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home g ...

of the Class-A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

. However, Romero made just seven starts and saw his season end early as he underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

at the end of August 2018. Romero did not play in the 2019 season. On June 28, 2020, the Nationals announced he would be a non-roster member of their 60-man "player pool" for the

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...

-shortened 2020 season. After placing left-handed reliever

Sean Doolittle Sean Robert Doolittle (born September 26, 1986) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Washington Nationals organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners a ...

on the injured list on August 13, 2020, the Nationals selected Romero's contract and promoted him to the major league roster for a game against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. Romero appeared in just three games at the major league level, pitching to a 13.50 ERA out of the Nationals' bullpen, before being placed on the injured list with a broken right hand suffered in an off-field accident; the Nationals said Romero had fallen on the stairs. Romero bounced around the Nationals' minor league system in 2021, pitching 35⅔ innings across four levels without making it back to the major leagues. In January 2022, he was arrested for

driving while intoxicated Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

in Sweeny, Texas. Romero was placed on the 60-day injured list on April 7, 2022 with a left calf strain. Romero pitched just 14⅔ innings in 2022, with all of his appearances coming below the Triple-A level. Romero was released by the Nationals on November 14, 2022, after he was again arrested in Sweeny for driving while intoxicated and possession of a controlled substance.

Pitching style

Romero throws left-handed, with a

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 thro ...

that sits at about . He also throws a

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

regarded by scouts as "above-average", as well as a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

. In college, he was known as a strikeout pitcher with solid command of his pitches. After drafting Romero, the

said publicly they planned to develop him as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

rather than pressing him into a relief role.

References

External links

Houston Cougars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Seth 1996 births Living people People from West Columbia, Texas Baseball players from Texas Major League Baseball pitchers Washington Nationals players Houston Cougars baseball players Gulf Coast Nationals players Auburn Doubledays players Hagerstown Suns players