San Francisco Giants: Keep Sergio Romo and the bullpen intact

The San Francisco Giants’ Sergio Romo became a free agent on Thursday, and whereas the diminutive relief specialist with the deadly slider does not get the media coverage that his rotund teammate Pablo Sandoval nets, this should not prevent Romo from receiving careful consideration, before allowing him to amble down the free agency path to elsewhere.

Brian Sabean has proven over and over that he recognizes the value of home-grown talent, and he strives to keep components of the Giants intact, when he takes note of how efficient they are. The harmony that the current Big Four of Javier Lopez, Jeremy Affeldt, Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo possess, would mandate that Sabean not rock this particular boat, because the resulting waves just may get in the way of another chance for a championship run.

The biggest problem with relief pitchers, especially closers, is that they pretty much toil in obscurity most of the time-that is-until they blow a hold or even a save. So when a pitcher like Sergio Romo has a series like the one he had in Colorado, last June, coinciding with the start of a ten-week, team nosedive, fans tend to have long memories.

That’s unfortunate, because if fans were really going to demonstrate that they had long memories, then they would go all the way back to 2008, when Sergio Romo first came up through the system and joined the parent club. He has consistently racked up sterling statistics, in terms of ERA, WHIP and command.

Sergio Romo is an integral gog in the Giants’ machine.photo by Denise Walos

In point of fact, Romo’s stats are nothing short of astonishing. In his seven-year career with the Giants, he has posted a 2.51 ERA, which is superb, and a WHIP (walks + hits/innings pitched) that is below one, coming in at 0.927.

Sergio Romo’s stats are off the chart, plus he is the consummate team player. Don’t let Romo stroll out the door, especially if the road leads to SoCal.

He has issued 72 walks in his tenure with San Francisco, which extrapolates out to an average of twelve walks per 162 games pitched. As a package deal, Sergio Romo’s stats boggle the mind.

Frankly, as extraordinary as his numbers are, that is still not the main reason why Brian Sabean needs to get him back. Romo has teamed with the other three aforementioned members of the Giants’ bullpen, to provide Bruce Bochy with a comprehensive seventh-inning-onward unit, which allows the Giants’ skipper to maneuver in the late innings of a game, in any which way he chooses, and that’s a lot of flexibility.

In Romo’s case, he has more than earned any upgrade that he may receive through his skill alone, but add to that, Romo’s ability to embrace whatever role Bochy thrusts upon him, and he is a priceless commodity, and one with which the Giants have been able to experience success.

For the Giants to be able to continue to contend, especially the way they have had to function this past season, with a corps of inconsistent starters, then it is imperative that the individual members of the bullpen be compensated for their efforts.

Keep Sergio Romo with San Francisco. After all, we know his pops is an avid Dodgers fan, from watching Sergio’s commercials.

Do I have to say anything else?

Jul 27, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Sergio Romo (54) throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Better to have Romo pitching against the Dodgers, than for them.

Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports