"Nick Castellanos is the only guy I know" - Jordan Romano eager to bond with Phillies teammates after signing 1-year, $8,500,000 deal 

The Philadelphia Phillies are gearing up for another postseason run in 2025. The NL Central powerhouse added a reliable bullpen arm in the form of closer Jordan Romano, a two-time All-Star in his six years with the Toronto Blue Jays.

On "The Phillies Show" podcast, hosted by Todd Zolecki and featuring insider Jim Salisbury and former Phillies player and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., Romano shared that he's not familiar with any player from the team except for one:

"Nick Castellanos is the only guy I know."

(from 28:09 mark onwards)

The former Blue Jays closer signed a one-year, $8.5 million deal with Philadelphia. When asked who he knew in the Phillies clubhouse, Romano said that he had only been acquainted with Nick Castellanos through Alek Manoah's wedding celebration last year.

"I was going through the list but don't know too many guys on it. It's a new kid on the school kind of feeling," he added.

In 2024, Philadelphia's bullpen was middle of the pack with a 3.94 ERA and 37 saves. However, it was in the postseason wherein the struggles reared its ugly head. Facing off against their rival New York Mets in the NLDS, Philadelphia surrendered 23 runs across four games as they plunged into an abysmal 11.37 ERA with 20 hits and 16 earned runs issued.

A reliever slash closer of Romano's caliber is certainly a welcome sight for the fans of the team. Discounting his rocky 2024 season, Romano has compiled a 2.51 ERA during the 2022-2023 seasons with 72 saves across 101 games. this merited him two All-Star game selections in the time span.

MLB insider predicts Anthony Santander will sign with Phillies

As of Tuesday, the Phillies front office has been awfully quiet this offseason. However, that might not be the case soon as MLB pundit David Schoenfield predicted that Baltimore Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander will sign with the club.

"If the Phillies don't land [Alex] Bregman, [Anthony] Santander looms as a good backup option," Schoenfield said via SportingNews.com.

The prediction isn't unwarranted as big-name outfielders are getting scooped up with Kyle Tucker heading to the Chicago Cubs and most recently, Cody Bellinger being traded to the New York Yankees.

Philadelphia is still trying to bridge the gap left by Bryce Harper in the outfield. At the moment, Castellanos is manning right field for the squad. However, an additional outfielder will certainly provide flexibility for the team.