JoJo Romero has emerged as the best reliever for the St. Louis Cardinals, impressing teammates with his pitching skills. His performance has drawn attention amid trade rumors, showcasing his value to the team.
Key points
JoJo Romero is the best reliever for the Cardinals.
He has an above-average sinker, changeup, and slider.
JoJo Romero Using His 'Nasty' Stuff to Become Cardinals' Best Reliever
ST. LOUIS – Just the mere mention of lefty reliever JoJo Romero’s name elicits an excited and a somewhat incredulous reaction from Cardinals’ catcher Iván Herrera.
“JoJo is nasty, man, I mean JoJo is so nasty,” Herrera said through a big smile while shaking his head, “He’s got an above average sinker, above average changeup and a great slider. He’s got all the pitches, and he can pitch to both sides of the plate. He dominates lefties and gets righties out. This guy is so impressive to catch. He’s such a really good pitcher.”
Herrera’s use of “nasty” as a description is some of the highest praise possible for a left-handed pitcher the ilk of the 29-year-old Romero. The subject of rampant trade rumors all winter because of the tremendous value teams see in him, Romero has backed up stellar seasons in 2024 and ’25 with some nearly flawless pitching thus far in 2026 to spark the surprising play by the Cardinals.
Arguably the Cardinals’ most valuable reliever because of his wipe-out stuff against left-handed hitters and his ability to cover multiple innings, Romero has yet to give up an earned run through his first nine appearances over 10 1/3 innings of work. Just six of the 39 batters Romero has faced have hits and he’s already compiled five holds.
One of Romero’s best highlights of the season came against the Mets when he was asked to face stars Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Bo Bichette in order two days in a row. Six batters up and six batters set down by the Cardinals most dependable lefty.
Q&A
What makes JoJo Romero the best reliever for the Cardinals?
JoJo Romero is considered the best reliever due to his impressive pitching arsenal, including an above-average sinker, changeup, and slider, which allows him to dominate both left-handed and right-handed batters.
How has JoJo Romero performed in the 2026 MLB season?
Romero has delivered nearly flawless pitching in the 2026 season, building on his stellar performances from 2024 and 2025, contributing significantly to the Cardinals' surprising success.
What are the trade rumors surrounding JoJo Romero?
Romero has been the subject of trade rumors due to the high value teams see in his pitching abilities, especially after his standout performances in recent seasons.
Who praised JoJo Romero's pitching skills?
Cardinals catcher Iván Herrera praised Romero, describing him as 'nasty' and highlighting his impressive pitching capabilities that make him a joy to catch.
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“All those guys have their track record and they prove it, so that was a great challenge for me,” Romero said. "The beauty of this game is that you always get another chance to face guys like Soto. I’ve been up long enough to face him a few times now and I’ve been able to take what I’ve learned from each time and grow for it.”
Lefties are a scant 2 for 14 (.143) against Romero’s hard-breaking slider and righties (4 of 21, .190) haven’t fared much better. That success is even better than what Romero did against lefties in 2025 (.211) and 2024 (.181). Also, there’s this: Left-handed hitters have one home run against Romero over the past three seasons.
Romero’s set-up work and the closing skills of Riley O’Brien have given the Cardinals a formidable one-two punch to end games. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound O’Brien is also unscored upon over his 10 outings and 10 1/3 innings of work. Featuring a high-velocity fastball and a frisbee-like sweeper that cuts hard away from right-handers and ties up lefties, O’Brien is 2-0 with five saves and foes are hitting a paltry .118 against him.
“JoJo has been absolutely lights out, but he was also lights out last year,” O’Brien said. “It’s kind of a fun thing that we’ve got going together. But he’s been throwing the ball great. Regardless of whether I throw behind him or in front of him, he’s great and he’s been lights out so far.”
The success of Romero and O’Brien came as something of a revelation to the Cardinals after they traded star closer Ryan Helsley, standout setup man Phil Maton and swingman Steven Matz before the MLB Trade Deadline in later July of 2025. Romero and O’Brien had solid seasons already in the works, and they raised their performances after being thrust into the high-leverage innings manned previously by Helsley and Maton.
From crushing cans to crushing hitters
The evolution of Romero – who came to the Cardinals from the Phillies in a relatively quiet 2022 trade for spare infielder Edmundo Sosa – has been impressive. In Philadelphia, Romero was more popular with fans for crushing Red Bull cans on his head than anything he did on the mound.
Following a 2023 season full of highs and lows, Romero showed off his massive potential in 2024. That season, he went 7-3 with a 3.36 ERA, 30 holds and a save over a career-best 65 appearances. In 2025, he rebounded from a tepid start with eight saves (in nine opportunities) and 24 holds in 65 appearances.
Nasty stuff indeed, as Herrera put it, from Romero.
“It’s all about just trusting your stuff,” Romeros said. “Sometimes it just takes time to understand who you are as a pitcher and who you are as a competitor. I’ve learned so much over these last couple of years and I give credit to what I’ve learned from others who have been here. I’ve been able to really hone in my process and I’ve learned how to develop a routine for when my name is called. That all goes into the progress I’ve been able to make.”
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