Tommy Romero (born July 8, 1997) 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 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 ...

in the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

organization. He has 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 ...

and

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 ...

Amateur career

Romero graduated from Coral Springs Charter School in 2015. Unselected in the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks f ...

, he enrolled at

Polk State College Polk State College, formerly Polk Community College, is a public college in Winter Haven, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. The college changed its name from Polk Community College in 2009 to reflect its first Bachelor's degre ...

where he played baseball. After his freshman year in 2016, he transferred to

Eastern Florida State College Eastern Florida State College, formerly Brevard Community College, is a public college in Brevard County, Florida. It is a member of the Florida College System and has campuses in Cocoa, Melbourne, Palm Bay, and Titusville, as well as a Virt ...

. As a sophomore in 2017, he won nine games, compiled a 1.13 ERA, and led the

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

in strikeouts with 136.

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

After his sophomore season, Romero was drafted by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

in the 15th round of the

2017 Major League Baseball 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 ...

. Romero signed and made his professional debut with the Rookie-level

Arizona League Mariners The Arizona Complex League Mariners are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The team is ...

, going 5-1 with a 2.08 ERA in innings pitched. He began 2018 with the

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Leag ...

of the

Single-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each ...

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

Tampa Bay Rays

On May 25, 2018, the Mariners traded Romero and Andrew Moore to the

in exchange for

Denard Span Keiunta Denard Span (born February 27, 1984) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mar ...

and Álex Colomé. He was assigned to the

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

of the Single-A Midwest League, with whom he was named an All-Star. In 25 total starts between Clinton and Bowling Green, he went 11-4 with a 2.95 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He spent a majority of the 2019 season with the

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

of the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Florida State League, pitching to a 12-4 record with a 1.89 ERA over 23 games (18 starts), striking out 103 over innings. He made one spot start for the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

of the Double-A Southern League at the end of the season. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 since the season was cancelled due to 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 identi ...

. That winter, he played for Criollos de Caguas of the

Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (LBPRC) is the main professional baseball league in Puerto Rico; it is colloquially referred to as the Puerto Rican Winter League. Consisting of seven teams as of the 2020–21 season, the league's ...

(LBPRC). He also played for Puerto Rico in the 2021 Caribbean Series. To begin the 2021 season, Romero was assigned back to Montgomery, now members of the

Double-A South AA, Aa, Double A, or Double-A may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''America's Army'', a 2002 computer game published by the U.S. Army * '' Ancient Anguish'', a computer game in existence since 1992 * Aa!, a J-Pop musical group * Do ...

. After pitching to a 1-0 record with a 1.88 ERA and 75 strikeouts over 48 innings, he was promoted to the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

of the

Triple-A East The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

in July. He earned Triple-A East Pitcher of the Month honors for September after going 5-0 with a 0.31 ERA over five starts. Over 12 total starts with Durham, Romero went 7-2 with a 3.18 ERA and seventy strikeouts over innings. On November 19, 2021, the Rays selected Romero's contract and added him to the 40-man roster. He returned to Durham to begin the 2022 season. After his first start, the Rays promoted Romero to the major leagues on April 12 and he made his MLB debut that night as the starting pitcher versus the Oakland Athletics at

Tropicana Field Tropicana Field (commonly known as the Trop) is a multi-purpose domed stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. The stadium has been the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) since the team's inaugural sea ...

. Coincidentally, the starting pitcher for the Athletics was Adam Oller, who was also making his MLB debut in the game. He pitched innings, giving up three earned runs on five walks, two hits, one home run, and one strikeout. On July 14, Romero recorded his first career win after pitching a scoreless sixth inning against the

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 ...

. He was designated for assignment on August 23, 2022.

Washington Nationals

Romero was claimed off waivers by the

on August 25, 2022. He was immediately optioned to the Nationals' Triple-A affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings. On November 15, Romero was designated for assignment. On November 18, he was non–tendered by the Nationals and became a free agent. Romero re-signed with the Nationals on a minor league contract on December 14, 2022. He elected free agency on November 6, 2023.

San Francisco Giants

On January 25, 2024, Romero signed a minor league contract with the

.https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/giants-sign-tommy-romero-to-minor-league-deal.html

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Tommy 1997 births Living people Arizona League Mariners players Baseball players from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Clinton LumberKings players Coral Springs Charter School alumni Criollos de Caguas players Durham Bulls players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente pitchers Major League Baseball pitchers Montgomery Biscuits players Rochester Red Wings players Sacramento River Cats players Tampa Bay Rays players Washington Nationals players