Blue Jays closer Romano replaces Valdez on AL roster

July 9th, 2023

Blue Jays closer has made his second All-Star team.

Romano will replace Astros right-hander , who pitched Saturday, on the American League roster.

Entering Sunday's action, Romano has a 2.95 ERA and 47 strikeouts across 36 2/3 innings. He shares the league lead in saves (25) with Cleveland's Emmanuel Clase.

The last-minute honors are nothing new for Romano -- this is the second consecutive season in which he's had an abrupt change of plans the Sunday before the break, having replaced Gerrit Cole on the AL All-Star team hours before the Blue Jays took the field for their final game of the first half in 2022.

With the addition of Romano, the Blue Jays will now have five players making the trip to Seattle. The right-hander joins Bo Bichette, Kevin Gausman, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Whit Merrifield.