The Toronto Blue Jays have been one of the busiest teams this winter. MLB‘s AL Champions have every right to be busy. After all, they came heartbreakingly close to winning their first World Series in several decades. To date, their pitching rotation has been an area of focus, evidenced by the new additions of free agents Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce.

For all intents and purposes, the Blue Jays are far from finished. Recent news that Kyle Tucker toured the team’s facilities shows that Toronto is doing more than the bare minimum in due diligence to improve its club. That’s not to mention Bo Bichette’s potential return to the team and other new signings they may make.

In addition to their starting rotation, they are exploring the market for relievers. They have expressed interest in Pete Fairbanks, who served as the Tampa Bay Rays closer. Toronto has also been named as a favorite to land Edwin Diaz. However, a new rumor has them linked to relief pitcher Jojo Romero. The lefty could be a massively underrated addition because of his “swing and miss” potential.

Toronto Blue Jays Linked to Ryan Helsley Replacement

Before the trade deadline, the St. Louis Cardinals traded away several relief pitchers. The biggest arm from their bullpen they shipped off was closer Ryan Helsley.

The Blue Jays are in search of high-leverage relievers this offseason. A new rumor links Toronto to Romero.

According to a post on December 3, 2025, by the X account MLB Live, “The Jays are also highly interested in Cardinals reliever JoJo Romero – for what it’s worth.”

And after trading away Sonny Gray this winter, the Cardinals aren’t done making trades. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports that they are fielding calls on Romero.

“JoJo Romero is also drawing trade interest this winter,” Jones wrote on November 25th. “And he has just over five years of major league service time.”

Other insiders have Romero on their list of trade candidates for the upcoming 2026 season. According to Jeff Passan, Romero is one of “15 more who could move” that he cited in his list of the top 25 trade candidates for this offseason.

MLBTradeRumors has Romero on their list of 40 trade candidates for this offseason. They have him on the list because “he’s heading into his final season of club control on a team that’s obviously embarking on a rebuild.”

Jojo Romero’s ‘Swing & Miss’ Potential

The southpaw hasn’t been listed as a target for the Blue Jays until this recent rumor. However, it makes a lot of sense once you understand what Romero brings to the table.

The 29-year-old relies primarily on his slider, sinker, and change-up. However, he also sprinkles in his four-seam fastball, in addition to rarely using a cutter

Brooks Baseball has high praise for the lefty’s four-seamer. The pitching resource says that this pitch “generates an extremely high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers’ fourseamers, has heavy sinking action and has well above average velo.”

According to Savant, in 2025, Romero threw his four-seamer only 59 times. In the previous season, he threw his four-seam fastball 91 times.

Romero a Replacement For Jeff Hoffman?

Romero did not step into a save opportunity until the final two months of the regular season. In his last 20 games of the year, he recorded eight saves in nine opportunities. He also struck out 20 in 25 2/3 innings.

For the whole season, he finished with a 2.07 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, and 55 strikeouts.

If the Blue Jays acquired him, he could step into the closer position, pushing Jeff Hoffman into another role. Additionally, he could also be the new setup arm.

In 2024 and 2025, the lefty has collected 54 holds in 130 games. With Seranthony Dominguez parting ways from the Blue Jays, they could use a lefty bullpen option for late-game scenarios.

In Romero, they could have someone with some potential upside to explore