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DUNEDIN, Fla. — The competitor in Jordan Romano wants to be in the Trop next Thursday ready to help his Blue Jays team get the 2024 season off to a rousing start.
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The realist in the Canadian closer isn’t going to rush it, however.
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Battling through some elbow inflammation, Romano was back in action at the team’s player development complex on Saturday, playing catch after being sidelined for a week.
“The elbow is feeling good and I’m getting ready to go,” Romano said. “All the inflammation is out of there so I’m as good as I can be right now.”
What does that mean in terms of opening day, now just five days away? Like so much about the Jays pitching situation right now, it’s a big TBD. The team has said that both Romano and fellow reliever Erik Swanson’s status won’t be determined until Thursday’s opener against the Rays at Tropicana Field.
“We’re taking it day-by-day right now depending on how we’re feeling,” Romano said. “Obviously I’d like to be out there. I’m not going to rule it out myself — but it depends on how things go.
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“You don’t want to push it where it could make it a big deal for a long time. We’re just trying to knock it out right now and have a good, long, healthy season.”
The downside — beyond the status of his elbow — is that Romano missed roughly a week of throwing. The upside is that he was one of the earliest pitchers to report to the team facility here and had an ambitious and productive Grapefruit League schedule before he was shut down.
“I think the fact that I threw in five games in spring training and live BPs and bullpens, I think that definitely helps the process,” Romano said. “It’s not going to be a huge, long process (to build back up) because I was throwing in games right before I got shut down.”
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