August 26, 2025
Gregory Fisher/Imagn Images
Joe Ross did not make it through a full season with the Phillies.
Following a brutal 13-3 loss on Monday night against the rival New York Mets, the Phillies have made multiple changes to their bullpen as their pair of offseason acquisitions continued to fail them.
The Phillies released Joe Ross on Tuesday and placed Jordan Romano on the 15-day injured list due to right middle finger inflammation.
Replacing Ross and Romano in manager Rob Thomson's bullpen will be right-hander Daniel Robert, who has made 12 appearances for the Phillies this season, and 33-year-old righty Lou Trivino, a local product with a 4.42 ERA across 38.2 innings this season for the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. Trivino signed a minor-league deal with the Phillies earlier this month and has thrown 7.0 scoreless frames at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski and co. took a major gamble with their bullpen construction over the offseason, allowing All-Stars Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez to depart in free agency. Their replacements were Ross and Romano, signed to one-year deals worth $4 million and $8.5 million. Neither of the veteran righties has been reliable at any point in 2025. Ross had been reduced to a mop-up role and Romano's latest implosion ballooned his ERA to 8.23 in 49 appearances.
The Phillies trailed the Mets 6-3 in the seventh inning on Monday night when Thomson handed the ball to Romano for the first time in a week. Romano gave up four runs. Ross relieved him in the eighth inning and gave up three runs. Romano's future with the team remains in jeopardy while Ross' time in Philadelphia is officially over.
