Red Sox sign veteran righty Sal Romano to minor-league deal

The Red Sox have signed free agent right-hander Sal Romano to a minor-league contract, per the club’s MLB.com transactions log. He has been assigned to Triple-A Worcester.

Romano, 30, is a veteran of five big-league seasons who last pitched in the majors for the Yankees in 2021. The righty was originally selected by the Reds in the 23rd round of the 2011 amateur draft out of Southington High School in Connecticut.

Signed for $450,000, Romano established himself as one of the top pitching prospects in Cincinnati’s farm system before making his major-league debut at the age of 23 in 2017. He posted a 4.45 ERA in 16 starts (87 innings) as a rookie and then struggled to a 5.31 ERA over 39 appearances (25 starts) spanning a career-high 145 2/3 innings in 2018.

After allowing 14 earned runs over just 16 1/3 innings pitched in 2019, Romano was designated for assignment by the Reds the following February. He cleared waivers and stuck in the organization without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster until he was summoned from the alternate training site in September. He made two scoreless — albeit brief — relief appearances towards the end of the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign and then made Cincinnati’s Opening Day roster the following spring.

To begin what would become a raucous 2021 season, Romano pitched to a 5.23 ERA in 20 2/3 innings out of the Reds bullpen before again being designated for assignment that May. He elected free agency shortly thereafter and quickly latched on with the Yankees on a minor-league deal. He made it up to New York in late July but appeared in just two games (including one against the Red Sox) before hitting waivers once more.

Romano was claimed by the Brewers in early August but spent less than two weeks (and got into one game at the big-league level) before being designated for assignment and outrighted off Milwaukee’s 40-man roster. He again opted for free agency and was scooped up by the Yankees. He appeared in two more games for New York before getting released in September.

Romano inked a minors pact with the Mariners before the start of the 2022 season but briefly retired from baseball. He returned to action in the 2022/2023 Venezuelan Winter League and then signed with the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the independent Atlantic League last April. In 28 outings (15 starts) for Gastonia, he went 4-5 with a 4.91 ERA and 75 strikeouts to 37 walks over 84 1/3 innings pitched.

Altogether, Romano owns a lifetime 5.23 ERA in 88 career appearances (41 starts, 275 1/3 innings) at the big-league level and a 4.91 ERA in Indy Ball. In 78 career outings (15 starts) at the Triple-A level, he has gone 6-13 with a 3.87 ERA and 133 strikeouts to 48 walks across 149 total innings of work.

Romano, who does not turn 31 until October, is listed at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds. When he last pitched in the majors in 2021, he averaged 93.6 mph with his sinker, and 87.3 mph with his slider, per Baseball Savant. Throughout his career, those two offerings have more or less served as his bread and butter.

As of now, it is unclear if the Red Sox plan on deploying Romano as a starter or reliever in Worcester. Regardless of his role, he should provide the WooSox with experienced pitching depth moving forward.