Category: MLB

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The Los Angeles Dodgers boast the league’s best run differential as they continue their pursuit of a third straight World Series title, and tonight's favorable matchup against embattled right-hander Mitch Keller offers another opportunity for the NL heavyweights to flex their elite offense.

With Polymarket offering a loaded slate from afternoon to night, here are our best MLB picks for Thursday, June 11.

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Odds
Josh Inglis: ARI/MIA Under 8.5	+100
Jon Metler: ATL ML	-120
Neil Parker: LAD -1.5	+104
Joe Osborne: BAL ML	+100

Prices courtesy of Polymarket.

Josh Inglis' expert pick: Diamondbacks/Marlins Under 8.5

Price: 50¢ (+100) at Polymarket

This is one of the few games on the board where both teams are traveling, which is why it's an afternoon start and could lead to weaker lineups than usual. The Miami Marlins head north to Pittsburgh tomorrow, while the Arizona Diamondbacks open a series against Cincinnati on Friday.

Arizona put up a donut last night, and while the Fish scored eight runs, six of those came in a single fourth inning. I trust both bullpens, and the Diamondbacks should need to use some relief arms today, which could result in high-leverage relievers working in non-high-leverage spots.

Let's hope for some quick at-bats and getaway-day baseball.

• Time: 1:10 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Dbacks.TV, Marlins.TV

Jon Metler's expert pick: Braves moneyline

Price: 54¢ (-120) at Polymarket

Ronald Acuna Jr. landing on the IL is certainly a blow to the Atlanta Braves' lineup, but I think the market may be overreacting to the news. Against left-hander Anthony Kay, Atlanta still has plenty of ways to generate offense, which creates some value at the current price.

One reason is the added depth provided by right-handed hitters Jorge Mateo and Ha-Seong Kim near the bottom of the order. Their presence lengthens the lineup and helps keep pressure on opposing pitchers when the batting order turns over. Mateo is hitting .300 on the season and .324 against left-handed pitching, while Kim has consistently produced better numbers against southpaws throughout his career.

Even without Acuna, this lineup is built to match up well against a left-handed starter, and that reality isn't being fully reflected in the market. I make the Braves closer to a 57-cent favorite against the Chicago White Sox.

• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• How to watch: BravesVision, CHSN

Neil Parker's expert pick: Dodgers -1.5

Price: 49¢ (+104) at Polymarket

The Los Angeles Dodgers boast the highest wOBA against righties this season and the highest overall xwOBA over the past 30 days, so I’m anticipating Pittsburgh Pirates' right-hander Mitch Keller to have his hands full.

Keller doesn’t have a single positive pitch value across his past five starts, which paints the perfect picture for why he’s allowed 24 runs across 26 innings during the skid.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh's bullpen has already been tasked with eight innings of work this series, and the Pirates rank 26th in reliever ERA across the past two weeks.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• How to watch: SportsNet LA, SportsNet Pittsburgh

Joe Osborne's expert pick: Orioles moneyline

Price: 50¢ (+100) at Polymarket

I'll happily back the home underdog in a matchup where the splits strongly favor the Baltimore Orioles.

Kyle Bradish is on a tear at Camden Yards, allowing just one earned run across his last three home starts. On the other side, Seattle Mariners' starter Bryan Woo has struggled away from the Emerald City, carrying a 5.08 road ERA and surrendering 18 earned runs over his last four road outings. 

Baltimore also enters in better offensive form, ranking 10th in OPS over the past week while remaining one of baseball's most productive home offenses.

• Time: 7:05 p.m. ET
• How to watch: ESPN

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The Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox wrap up a three-game set at Rate Field on Thursday, June 11, and the South Siders can pull off the series sweep with a win.

But my top Braves vs. White Sox predictions and MLB picks are calling for Atlanta to leave the Windy City with the victory after teeing off on Chicago lefty Anthony Kay tonight. 

Who will win Braves vs White Sox today: Braves moneyline (-112)

I’m fully fading Chicago White Sox lefty Anthony Kay on Thursday. 

He’s sporting a 5.46 xERA with a pedestrian 8.6 swinging-strike percentage across his past nine starts, and the Atlanta Braves enter ranked eighth in wOBA against southpaws for the season and sixth in overall xwOBA across the past 30 days.

On the flip side, Atlanta starter Martin Perez checks in with a sustainable 4.02 xERA with just 15 runs allowed across his past eight starts, so I’m anticipating him limiting the damage enough for the Braves to pull away in the series finale. 

I’d play the Braves moneyline down to -120, too.

COVERS INTEL: Chicago White Sox starter Anthony Kay has the fifth-highest xERA among the 100 pitchers with at least 60 innings, so I expect his struggles to continue and pave the way for the Atlanta moneyline and the Over 8.5 tonight.

Braves vs White Sox Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (-105)

While I do expect Perez to hold the Chicago lineup in check to a degree, the White Sox also send a potent lineup to the dish.

The Pale Hose similarly rank third in wOBA against lefties and 10th in the overall metric across the past 30 days. 

Of course, Chicago has also played to the Over in 19 of their last 30 games (+9.05 Units / 28% ROI), while Atlanta has gone Over the number in 28 of its last 45 road games (+11.45 Units / 23% ROI).

Braves vs White Sox odds

• Moneyline: Atlanta -120 | Chicago +100
• Run line: Atlanta -1.5 (+140) | Chicago +1.5 (-165)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-115) | Under 8.5 (-105)

Braves vs White Sox trend

The Atlanta Braves hit the Over in 28 of their last 45 away games (+11.45 Units / 23% ROI), and the Chicago White Sox have played to the Over in 19 of their last 30 games (+9.05 Units / 28% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Braves vs. White Sox.

How to watch Braves vs White Sox and game info

Braves vs White Sox latest injuries

Braves vs White Sox weather

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Texas Rangers @ Kansas City Royals

Thursday, June 11, 2026, 1:10 PM CDT (105.3 The Fan / Rangers Sports Network)

Kauffman Stadium

RHP Kumar Rocker vs. RHP Michael Wacha

Go Rangers!

The game is in a weather delay. It is not raining, but it might!

Thursday notes…

• IT HAS BEEN 14 YEARS: The Cubs have not been swept in a series at Colorado since Sept. 25-27, 2012, when they lost by 10-5, 6-0 and 7-5. This is their 13th series there since that sweep. They lost two games, then won the finale in 2019 and 2024. The Cubs have been swept in four total series at Denver. The three before 2012 were two games and four games in 1997, then three games in 2010. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TWO IS RARELY ENOUGH: The Cubs scored only two runs last night. It was their seventh game with exactly two, and the fourth they have lost. They are 1-7 with one run and have been shut out seven times, so they are 4-18 with two or fewer runs — and 30-16 with three or more. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• MORE ON THE LACK OF OFFENSE: In their last five games, the Cubs have scored 12 runs: three in three games, two in one and one in one. They have scored in only 10 of 47 innings, and produced multiple runs in only two, both with two runs. They have scored more than two runs in an inning only once in their last 10 games: the four-run, ninth-inning rally that beat the Athletics, 7-6, last Thursday. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Jody Davis hits his first MLB home run and the Cubs defeat the Giants 6-1 at Wrigley Field. It’s the team’s fifth win in their last six games after a 10-36 start to the season. It’s also the last game before a players’ strike that would last nearly two months and wipe out a third of the season. This game happened 45 years ago today, Thursday, June 11, 1981.

For the third day in a row, the Cubs lineup was not available at posting time. Honestly I have no idea why it takes this long, why they can’t do this by two hours to game time. Anyway, please check BCB social media for the Cubs lineup.

Rockies lineup:

Edward Cabrera, RHP vs. Ryan Feltner, RHP

Edward Cabrera’s last start was… oh, I won’t be charitable. It was awful. He allowed three home runs and eight runs in fewer than four innings, the first time he’d ever allowed eight runs in a game.

The last time he pitched in Coors Field was Aug. 26, 2024 and he allowed three runs in 5.1 innings. Honestly, doing that today would be a significant improvement over last time out.

Ryan Feltner missed most of 2025 with back and shoulder issues and also missed five weeks earlier this year with ulnar nerve inflammation.

He’s made two starts since returning and both were very good — in total, 12 innings pitched, five hits and one run allowed.

He has not faced the Cubs since Sept. 18, 2022 and I post that boxscore link mostly for amusement value, because there’s only one position player from that lineup still on the team (Ian Happ). Current Cubs are a very small sample size 2-for-16 against him.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Coors Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Rockies site Purple Row. If you do go there to interact with Rockies fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Detroit Tigers (28-40) vs. Minnesota Twins (31-38)

Time/Place: 1:10 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site: Twinkie Town
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Keider Montero (2-4, 3.95 ERA) vs. RHP Zebby Matthews (2-3, 4.15 ERA)

When the Yankees re-signed Paul Blackburn to a one-year deal back in December, I actually liked the move. A veteran pitcher who had spent his entire career as a (rather lackluster) starter, he was, at a minimum, important early-season depth for a team that knew heading into the winter that it would have three starting pitchers — Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, and Clarke Schmidt — open the year on the injured list. And while the rotation depth was fortunately not tested any further in spring training, having a pair of veteran arms in Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough was the type of Plan B that big-market teams with larger payrolls should always have.

This wasn’t why I was intrigued, however. Three years ago, in September 2023, the Yankees claimed journeyman starter Luke Weaver off waivers. They liked what they saw, re-signed him to a one-year deal with a team option for 2025, and although they had him prepare as a starter in spring training, they had him ticketed for a spot in the bullpen from pretty much day one. You know the rest — he became a dominant bullpen arm that locked down the closer’s role in the Yankees’ 2024 AL pennant run, followed that up with an up-and-down 2025, and signed a two-year deal with the Mets in free agency this past winter. To me, Blackburn seemed like a perfect candidate to try this again.

Fast forward to June, and it seems like this is the Yankees’ goal. Unlike Yarbrough, who primarily — although not exclusively, as we saw on Monday night — pitches when the team needs multiple innings (particularly in garbage time), Blackburn has been increasingly used in more and more…I wouldn’t say high leverage roles, but middle innings in games that the Yankees neither have a large lead nor have put up the white flag. And for his part, he hasn’t been half bad in that role: since the start of May, he has allowed just five runs, three of which came back on May 13th in Baltimore.

However, is this performance sustainable, or is Blackburn’s stretch of strong performances yet more evidence for the volatility of relief pitchers? The underlying data is, well, rather contradictory.

Blackburn has done a very good job at both avoiding hard contact and generating groundballs — in fact, his groundball percentage ranks 14th out of the 183 relievers with at least 20 innings so far this season, and his hard hit percentage 64th. At the same time, though, he struggles to get batters to chase at pitches out of the zone or whiff at pitches in the zone, a combo that makes him one of the worst strikeout pitchers in the game. While Tim Hill (69.8 GB%, 11.8 K%), Yennier Cano (61.7 GB%, 19.8 K%), and Tyler Rogers (68.9 GB%, 15.1 K%) prove that you can still be a reliable reliever — nay, even a dominant one — while pitching more to contact, it does leave less room for error.

Looking deeper into the Statcast data, Blackburn has thrown seven different types of pitches this year, a reflection of his background as a starter: a sinker, a cutter, a changeup, a curveball, a sweeper, a four-seamer, and a slider. Of these, he tends to lean on his sinker and his cutter against righties, mixing in his sweeper against righties. Against lefties, he has used a wider repertoire, leaning on his cutter, changeup, and curveball and mixing in the sinker. He’s only thrown eight fastballs and four sliders, and given the context, I’m pretty sure the sliders were simply sweepers that didn’t register correctly on Statcast.

Not surprisingly, given the larger number of right-handed hitters compared to lefties, Blackburn has combined to throw his sinker and cutter a whopping 65.4 percent of the time. Unfortunately, these are also the pitches that hitters have done the most damage on: batters are hitting .324 against the sinker and .357 against the cutter, and the xBA for each shows relatively little regression should be expected, at least in terms of batted ball data (.338 and .275, respectively). The changeup, cutter, and sweeper, on the other hand, have been very effective in their smaller sample sizes, responsible for 11 of his 20 strikeouts and just four of his 27 hits.

So where do we stand on our original question? In truth, the question is still up in the air. Should Blackburn be able to generate more soft grounders with the sinker, he may be able to continue this hot stretch and become a solid middle reliever for the team as we head into the summer months. But unless he can find a way to generate some swing-and-miss, however, it seems unlikely that he can pull a Weaver and turn himself into what the Yankees are looking for, another true bullpen ace.

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The Chicago Cubs are looking to avoid being swept at Coors Field by the Colorado Rockies in their series finale Thursday, June 11.

My top Cubs vs. Rockies predictions and MLB picks are calling for the Chicago bats to wake up just in time to leave Colorado with an afternoon win.

Who will win Cubs vs Rockies today: Cubs moneyline (-142)

The Chicago Cubs have the third-lowest BABIP in baseball despite ranking 10th in hard-hit rate and 14th in squared up contact rate during their 7-22 slide, so statistical correction is coming, and I’m particularly expecting an increase to their 3.2 runs per game during the skid.

Plus, even with the dip in production at the dish, the Cubs are still tied for eighth in wRC+ against right-handed pitchers. 

This should prove to be a favorable matchup, too. Colorado Rockies righty Ryan Feltner checks in with 5.69 xERA alongside a target-worthy 18.5% blast contact rate. 

The Cubs moneyline is in play down to -150.

COVERS INTEL: The Chicago Cubs rank 27th in clutch batting win probability (-0.98) during their highlighted slump after posting a sixth-ranked 1.26 mark through the prior 23 games to highlight an unsustainable – and catastrophic – drop in timely hitting has been another huge contributor to the skid. Chicago begins returning to form at the plate this afternoon.

Cubs vs Rockies Over/Under pick: Under 11.5 (-122)

The Cubs and Rockies played to the Under the first two games of the series with just 15 runs combined, so with the potential for both teams to rest regulars Thursday, this total is too high for me.

Additionally, while Chicago righty Edward Cabrera was hit hard in his return from a blister on his middle finger, he surrendered three earned runs or fewer in nine of 10 starts while pitching to a nearly identical 4.00 ERA and 4.01 xFIP to start the year.

Finally, considering the highlighted Cubs struggles at the dish, I’m not anticipating Chicago flipping the script entirely this afternoon and would play this Under to -125.

Cubs vs Rockies odds

• Moneyline: Cubs -155 | Rockies +130
• Run line: Cubs -1.5 (-100) | Rockies +1.5 (-120)
• Over/Under: Over 11 (-115) | Under 11 (-105)

Cubs vs Rockies trend

The Cubs have cashed the Under in 18 of their last 30 games for +5.15 units and a 16% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Cubs vs. Rockies.

How to watch Cubs vs Rockies and game info

Cubs vs Rockies latest injuries

Cubs vs Rockies weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

2026 MLB Draft Preview: Jared Grindlinger scouting report.

The 2026 is about a month away — the first round kicks off on July 11, 2026 — so its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #16, their second round pick is at #54, and their third round pick is at #89.

Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first three picks. Today we are looking at Huntington Beach, California, two-way player Jared Grindlinger.

Jared Grindlinger is a 6’3”, 185 lb. lefthanded hitter and thrower who is matriculating from Huntington Beach High School in California. Grindlinger is one of the youngest players in this year’s draft class, having just turned 17 this past April. Grindlinger was originally going to be in the 2027 draft class, but reclassified four months ago to being draft-eligible in 2026. He is committed to the University of Tennessee, where his older brother, Trent, is a freshman who has been the Volunteers’ starting catcher this year.

As a hitter, the reports on Grindlinger describe him as contact-oriented, without a lot of present power, but with a build and swing that projects for power in the future. BP describes him as having “elite” contact ability and strike zone control.

Defensively, Grindlinger plays the outfield, though his lack of speed means he’s probably a corner outfielder, with right field being the best fit due to his arm. His speed will probably decrease as he fills out, which could result in him ending up at first base.

On the mound, Grindlinger is “all about projection,” per MLB Pipeline, which notes that his present stuff isn’t all that impressive. His fastball has touched 96 but is generally in the low 90s, with a slider that is a work in progress. His changeup is seen as his best offspeed pitch, with MLB Pipeline noting he has thrown both a circle change and a kick change.

Baseball America has Grindlinger at #17 on their board. MLB Pipeline has Grindlinger at #18 on their board. Kiley McDaniel puts Grindlinger at #11 on his top 150 list. Keith Law’s rankings have Grindlinger at #12 on his board. Fangraphs does not have Grindlinger on their board. Baseball Prospectus has Grindlinger at #15 on their top 30 draft board.

In the most recent Baseball America mock draft, Carlos Collazo has Grindlinger going to the Nationals at #11, and also mentions him in connection with several other teams in the early teens. Jim Callis’s June 4 mock draft has Grindlinger going to the Nationals at #11. Keith Law’s May mock draft has Grindlinger going to the Guardians at #19. Law’s June 10 mock draft has Grindlinger going to the Rangers at #18. Kiley McDaniel’s May 29 mock draft has Grindlinger going to the Nationals at #11.

Grindlinger is a really interesting draft candidate. His re-classifying just five months before the draft means that teams had not focused on him previously as much as other high schoolers who were draft-eligible this year. His being so young means that there’s much more projecting that has to be done with him, as well as the fact that as a two-way player he has not focused on either pitching or hitting as much as a non-two-way player would have at this point. To put his youth into context, on draft day, Grindlinger will be roughly five months older than Sebastian Walcott was when the Rangers signed him.

Grindlinger is a high upside, high risk guy right now, and the chances are good that he will be off the board when the Rangers pick. If he’s not, the Rangers, who have two way teenagers Josh Owens and Seong-Jung Kim playing in the ACL this year, would have the opportunity to add another youngster with two-way potential to the system.

Previously:

Liam Peterson

Tyler Bell

Aiden Robbins

The St. Louis Cardinals will continue their joyride in New York Wednesday afternoon as Hunter Dobbins will get the start for the Redbirds. The New York Mets will hope Christian Scott can pull off a miracle as he will take the mound for the metros. First pitch is scheduled for 12:10pm central time and the broadcast will be available on Cardinals.tv.

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Pittsburgh's PNC Park plays host tonight as the Dodgers and Pirates look to decide their three-game set.

Mitch Keller takes the hill for the home team, and my Dodgers vs. Pirates predictions and MLB picks for Thursday, June 11, don’t envision him finding much success.

Who will win Dodgers vs Pirates today: Dodgers moneyline (-165)

There isn’t much to like about Mitch Keller’s profile at this stage of his career against a potent team like the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Keller’s 4.54 xERA and .278 xBA aren’t encouraging. He doesn’t miss bats (18th percentile whiff rate), which isn’t a surprise given his underhwhelming stuff (93 Stuff+).

L.A. has a .273 xBA — and a 148 wRC+ against right-handed pitching — in the last 14 days and should collect plenty of hits while avoiding the punchout (9.7 swinging strike rate).

Justin Wrobleski gives the Boys in Blue a starting pitching edge. Play them up to -175.

COVERS INTEL: Mitch Keller leads with his four-seamer (33%) and has been fortunate with a .229 BA. The pitch’s .310 xBA is more concerning, and LA — with a league-best 19.4 runs above average against fastballs — will provide immediate regression.

Dodgers vs Pirates Over/Under pick: Over 9.5 (-105)

The forecast screams hitting weather, so I’ll open up my ears and oblige Mother Nature’s call.

It’ll be a warm day in the low 80s with winds of 9-11 mph blowing out to left field. That’s bumped the total up to 9.5, but it isn’t a big enough increase.

Wrobleski’s underlying profile begs for regression. He’s essentially a two-pitch hurler, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rank sixth against fastballs (12.6 wFA) and eighth against sliders (3.4 wSL).

Both bullpens have been a disaster (L.A. 6.04 ERA over the last 14 days, Pittsburgh 5.88).

Dodgers vs Pirates odds

• Moneyline: Dodgers -170 | Pirates +145
• Run line: Dodgers -1.5 (-105) | Pirates +1.5 (-115)
• Over/Under: Over 9.5 (+100) | Under 9.5 (-120)

Dodgers vs Pirates trend

The Pirates have gone Over the total in 12 of their last 14 games. Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. Pirates.

How to watch Dodgers vs Pirates and game info

Dodgers vs Pirates latest injuries

Dodgers vs Pirates weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

FIRST PITCH: 1210p Central

TELEVISION: Twins.TV, “presented” “by” “Progressive”

RADIO: WCCO 830 AM “Your Good Neighbors to the North”, KMNB 102.9 FM “The Wolf”, The “Glen Perkins Kinda Sounds Like He’s Getting Tired of Kris Atteberry” Baseball Network, Audacy Application

KNOW OUR FOE:Bless You Boys, a Detroit Tigers Community

The Minnesota Twins finish up a 10-game stretch of contests against American League Central rivals today with a rubber match against the Detroit Tigers. A win secures a 5-5 record during that stretch and pushes the Tigers to 3.5 games behind the Twins for third in the division. A Twins loss doesn’t do the things that you just read.

After a successful bullpen game in which the bullpen did their darndest to cough it up as usual, Minnesota will send Zebby Matthews to the mound and ask him to go at least nine innings today à la old school Major League Baseball. You could make an argument that Matthews has been the most consistent starting pitcher as of late, turning in four quality starts in his last five games. His last outing was against the Kansas City Royals in which he went seven innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, four walks, and struck out two. That outing – and two more of his past five starts – saw Zebby throw 100 pitches on the dot. The Twins will definitely look to avail of this workhorse today.

Detroit counters with Keider Montero. The 25-year-old Venezuelan had a rough outing his last time out, going five innings and allowing four earned runs to the Seattle Mariners at home. The highly-regarded prospect has had a handful of great outings but also a handful of rougher outings; the Tigers are 4-8 in games in which Montero has started. He’ll feature a mid-90s four-seamer, a slider, a change, and a curve.

GO TWIMS GO

Mets lineup

1. Carson Benge – RF
2. Bo Bichette – SS
3. Juan Soto – DH
4. Jared Young – 1B
5. A.J. Ewing – CF
6. Marcus Semien – 2B
7. Brett Baty – 3B
8. Francisco Alvarez – C
9. MJ Melendez – LF

SP: Christian Scott

Cardinals lineup

1. JJ Wetherholt – 2B
2. Iván Herrera – DH
3. Alec Burleson – 1B
4. Jordan Walker – RF
5. Lars Nootbaar – LF
6. Masyn Winn – SS
7. Jimmy Crooks – C
8. Nolan Gorman – 3B
9. Nathan Church – CF

SP: Hunter Dobbins

Broadcast info

First pitch: 1:10 PM EDT
TV: SNY
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2

Jordan Romano knows what it feels like to be one of the best relievers in baseball. He has been there.

Two All-Star appearances, 105 saves with the Toronto Blue Jays, and a stretch from 2021 through 2023 where he was, on most nights, simply unhittable. A 6-foot-5 right-hander from Markham, Ontario, with a fastball that backed hitters off the plate and a 2.90 ERA across his six seasons in Toronto, Romano was, for several years, one of the most reliable ninth-inning arms in the American League.

Then the right elbow gave out.

Romano underwent arthroscopic surgery in July 2024 to repair an impingement. He made just 15 appearances in 2024, posted a 6.59 ERA, and watched Toronto non-tender him that winter.

He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies for $8.5 million in 2025, trying to recapture his elite form. Romano made 49 appearances, posted an 8.23 ERA across 42.2 innings, and ended the season on the IL with right middle finger inflammation. He then signed with the Los Angeles Angels over the winter on a major league deal and made the Opening Day roster, but lasted 11 appearances before being released on April 27 with a 10.13 ERA across eight innings. The Angels chapter lasted less than a month.

Now, sitting in the Arizona heat at the Rockies’ Scottsdale facility — days before his assignment to Triple-A Albuquerque — Romano was throwing off the mound for the third time in a week and talking about energy transfer.

Choosing Colorado

The reason he chose Colorado, of all the places he could have landed, comes down to one name: Matt Buschmann.

The Rockies bullpen coach was on Romano’s staff in Toronto for several years, and Romano credits him as a significant piece of his success during that run. When the opportunity to sign with Colorado emerged, Romano called Buschmann. He liked what he heard about the people the organization had brought in. He spoke with pitching personnel — Owen Cuffee and Emilio Martinez among them — and came away convinced this was the right environment to do the work.

“I really like the stuff they’re doing, the new guys they hired,” Romano said. “I talked to Owen and Emilio — really smart guys. I decided this is probably the best fit for me to work on my stuff, get better down here, and help contribute up there.”

Rebuilding the delivery

The work, in his telling, is specific. The mechanics of how he transfers energy through his delivery — the sequencing, the timing, the feel of it translating from bullpen session to live game — is where he is spending most of his time. It is unglamorous and incremental, the kind of thing that doesn’t show up in a stat line.

Some days it clicks.

Some days it doesn’t.

“I’m trying to get to the point where my delivery is doing what I’ve been working on without really thinking about it,” he said. “Muscle memory. I feel like we’re almost there. It’s kind of exciting.”

He is also working on a new splitter grip — one he believes gives him better command of the pitch and more movement — and on generating more velocity overall. The combination of a tuned-up delivery and a sharper splitter, in his mind, is the difference between the pitcher he has been recently and the pitcher he knows he can be.

Finding joy in the process

What is striking about Romano, sitting in the ACL clubhouse in early June, is how unbothered he seems by any of it. This is his fourth organization in three years — Toronto, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and now Colorado. — and he has developed a kind of institutional fluency for the transition.

“The first two weeks, you’re kind of learning everyone’s name,” he said. “And then after two weeks, it’s kind of like — everyone’s been cool here.”

He does not come off as bitter about the way things have gone. He is not performing enthusiasm that he doesn’t feel. He genuinely seems to enjoy the process.

“The thing I like most about baseball is, like, the performing is amazing,” he said, “but the working on stuff — you’re trying to do something, and then you see it kind of click. That’s the best feeling for me.”

He paused. “Get down here, get in the trenches a little bit, work on your stuff.”

The road back to Coors

He has pitched at Coors Field before. He knows what it asks of a pitcher — the way breaking balls behave differently in thin air, the necessary adjustments in pitch locations.

“You’ve got to set your sights a little differently with your breaking balls,” he said. “But I actually enjoy it. It’s a beautiful park.”

He wants to get back there. He is not racing toward it. One step at a time, he said. Get the delivery right first. Let the rest follow.

For a pitcher who was, not long ago, one of the most reliable closers in the American League, the patience required to rebuild something from the ground up in Triple-A in June is not nothing.

But Romano doesn’t frame it as patience.

He frames it as a preference.

The work itself, he says, is that part he loves. The competing and feeling good — that’s what he’s building toward.

“Sometimes it’s not as fun competing when you know you’re a little off, or you don’t feel right,” he said. “Competing and feeling good — that’s going to be fun. That’s honestly one of the better feelings you can have.”

He’s close. He said so himself. From a guy who has had every reason to stop believing it, that counted for something.

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