Fernando Romero stated it matter-of-factly. He’s headed to Triple-A Rochester, but he’s making progress, even if he hasn’t been as good as he was when he first called him up.
He’ll be back, though.
“There’s no (feeling sorry for yourself), just something that happens in baseball,” he said after a 9-6 loss to the Texas Rangers on Saturday. “At some point, you’re not waiting for it, but all you have to do is handle the situation and get back to work. I’ll be back as soon as possible. As soon as they give me the chance again, I’ll get it back.”
Romero, the Minnesota Twins’ No. 6 prospect according to Baseball America, profiles as an ace and displayed a top-of-the-order skillset when he first arrived in the big leagues. He did not give up an earned run in his first two starts, and had a 1.88 ERA in his first five while holding opponents to a .194/.304/.265 line.
But he didn’t get out of his sixth start in Kansas City, giving up eight earned runs on nine hits in 1.2 innings in an 11-8 loss to the Royals on May 30. In four starts after that outing, he owns a 4.71 ERA, and opponents are hitting .268/.326/.476 against him.
He only gave up 11 runs in June, and pitched into the fifth time in every start except on June 16 against the Cleveland Indians, but his strikeout numbers are down and the Twins needed a bullpen arm after Jake Odorizzi didn’t get out of the second inning on Saturday.
“We’re going to option Romero down to Rochester just briefly,” said manager Paul Molitor. “There’s been a lot of good things for him. A young man who’s still learning how to use his skills at the best level up here and learning control of the game. We’re going to need a replacement for a little bit of replenishment for that ‘pen tomorrow. We’ll have a move to follow up that come tomorrow morning.”
Molitor made it clear, however, that the move was as much about Romero’s performance as it was about getting another arm for the bullpen.
“I think Romero is probably the first concern in that,” said Molitor. “We’ve been talking about a little bit the starts and while they haven’t been horrific or horrendous. It just looks like it has been a little bit more laborious for him. Some of the things a young pitcher goes through, I think it’s time to reset him a little bit.”
Asked if he felt he was being sent down because it was best for his development, or because Minnesota needed an extra reliever, Romero declined to speculate.
“I really don’t want to talk about that,” he said calmly. “They just sent me down. It’s their decision. They make their own. I’ll be moving forward.”
He did not disclose any specifics in terms of what he will work on in Rochester.
“I’ll be keeping all that work: my mechanics, my pitches, attacking the zone,” he said. “That’s all I’m going to do.”
Being optioned down to Triple-A is common in the development of a young pitcher. Romero, 23, possesses a 97 mph fastball with movement, but needs to work on his off-speed stuff in order to be more confident throwing it in the zone. He’s shown the ability to forget “mistake” pitches that opponents capitalize on, and should be part of the Twins plans going forward.
“There’s obviously some things I don’t want to be too transparent about that I think he needs to work on,” said Molitor. “I’m sure he’ll get back to work. He’s got a really nice future and as (general manager) Thad (Levine) told him, ‘When we’re at our best, he’s going to be a part of it.’ I think everybody can agree on that.”
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