Reports of St. Louis Cardinals & JoJo Romero Reuniting Make a Lot of Sense

We live in a world where many things don’t make sense. The St. Louis Cardinals and JoJo Romero being interested in a reunion is one thing that does.

In case you missed it, the rumor mill started spinning when MLB Trade Rumors reported that the St. Louis Cardinals had an interest in bringing JoJo Romero back. That news was added to by Jeff Jones who said that he had sources telling him that JoJo Romero was also interested in becoming a Cardinal again.

The response from our community was generally very enthusiastic.

The possibility of JoJo reappearing with Birds on the Bat on his uniform even inspired references to a song from the Beatles.

There is belief that a JoJo Romero signing will be affordable – in a baseball kind of way.

But, what about other arms inside and outside the organization that might be ready? That would be a nice problem to have.

The numbers don’t lie. JoJo Romero’s first half with the Cardinals continuing through his World Series run with the Brewers was impressive.

Games Pitched (G) 55
Record (W-L) 3–3
Earned Run Average (ERA) 3.36
Innings Pitched (IP) 56.1
Strikeouts (SO) 54
Walks (BB) 18
WHIP 1.22
FIP 3.97

He was a key part of the Milwaukee Brewers playoff run, too. Over 8 relief appearances in the playoffs, he registered a 1.13 ERA with 11 strikeouts across 8.0 innings pitched.

What would a potential JoJo Romero contract look like?

I’ve seen estimates that he’d likely be seeking a 2-year contract somewhere in the neighborhood of $13 million dollars. JoJo is 30 years old right now. He does have a history with some injury issues including left forearm flexor inflammation in September of 2024 and left patellar tendinitis in his knee back in September of 2023 not to mention Tommy John surgery in March of 2022, but appendicitis this past July with the Cardinals was his only real recent issue. I agree with the commenters that he would not only be a solid arm for the relief staff, but would also be a good influence on the young arms that will be traveling north from Memphis.

The only question I have is whether the Cardinals will have to get into a bidding war to win his services back. There are reports that the Milwaukee Brewers might want JoJo back on their staff and the Minnesota Twins and San Francisco Giants might also be interested. I think JoJo’s return to the Cardinals makes sense on every level. I’ll be very surprised if we don’t learn his fate before the end of November with the likely work stoppage looming on December 1.