Are the Toronto Blue Jays the ‘Mystery Team’ Pursuing Sergio Romo?

Free agent relief pitcher Sergio Romo is reportedly deciding between the Los Angeles Dodgers and a mystery team. Could that team be the Toronto Blue Jays?

Despite signing left-hander J.P. Howell, which was a massive need, the Toronto Blue Jays have continued to explore the relief market, according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith.

With right-handed reliever Sergio Romo still available on the open market, could he be the final piece to the Blue Jays’ bullpen puzzle? According to Fox Sports‘ Ken Rosenthal, Romo is deciding between the Los Angeles Dodgers and a mystery team.

Could the Blue Jays be that mystery team? Pursuing Romo does make sense for Toronto, and, for what it’s worth, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman also believes the Jays makes sense for Romo, along with the Nationals, Mets and maybe Rays.

Baseball wise, Romo is a great fit for the Blue Jays. But is Toronto a fit for Romo? The 33-year-old Brawley, California native has spent the majority of his life on the west coast and has only lived on the east coast for short periods of time.

His first trip out east was back in college when he traveled to Florence, Alabama to play Division-II baseball for the University of North Alabama in 2004. Romo would transfer back to the west coast the very next season, joining Mesa State College in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

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After being drafted by the Giants in the 28th round of the 2005 draft, Romo would once again head out east to play high-A ball for the Augusta GreenJackets in Augusta, Georgia. After pitching in class-A ball for a few years in California, he would begin the 2008 season in the Eastern League with the Connecticut Defenders. His brief 27 game stint with the Defenders was the last time Romo resided on the east coast for an extended period of time.

Romo is clearly a west coast kind of guy, and, if you’ve ever visited California, it’s hard to blame him! Relating his career history to the Blue Jays, why would Romo all the sudden be inclined to move his entire life out east after he’s spent the majority of his time out west in California? It just doesn’t make sense.

While he has expressed his desire to return to the Giants, he also understands a reunion is unlikely, so he’s looking for a place that will make him happy to show up to the park everyday.

“I’m looking for that right situation,” Romo said to SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio. “I’m thankful that teams are still calling. But right now, it’s not really money. It’s not. It’s more so finding exactly the place I need to go, the place I know I’ll be able to have the privilege of saying, like I did in San Francisco, that I went to work happy every day.”

Of course, all that can happen in Toronto. I mean, the Blue Jays are known as the Kings of Fun. Geographically, however, the Blue Jays do not fit what Romo seems to prefer, which is living on the west coast.

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This whole “west coast preference” is a colossal assumption on my part, but I think given Romo’s history, it’s more than valid. Throw in his career 1.82 ERA in 24.2 career innings pitched at Dodger Stadium, too, and Romo seems like the ideal fit for Los Angeles.