Just days before spring training starts, the A’s have brought back one key piece of their bullpen and another face familiar to Bay Area fans.
Right-handers Sergio Romo and Yusmeiro Petit have agreed to one-year contracts with the A’s, according to multiple reports. Both deals are pending physicals. Petit will be paid $2.55 million this season and Romo $2.25 million, reports said.
It was the third move to shore up the bullpen in as many days for the A’s, who Friday acquired left-hander Adam Kolarek from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a four-player trade.
While Petit’s return to Oakland was not a surprise, Romo joining the A’s brings him back to his professional roots and adds another late-game option to a team looking for a closer.
Romo, who turns 38 on March 4, made his major-league debut with the Giants in 2005 and was part of their three World Series championship teams in five years. After leaving the Giants following the 2016 season, Romo bounced from the Dodgers to the Tampa Bay Rays to the Miami Marlins to, most recently, the Minnesota Twins.
In his two seasons with the Twins, Romo went 1-3 with a 3.59 ERA and eight saves in 42.2 innings over 51 games. With the Giants, Romo went 32-26 with a 2.95 ERA and 134 saves in 643 innings covering 732 games in nine seasons.
Petit has pitched the previous three years with the A’s, has compiled a 14-10 record with a 2.73 ERA in 197.2 innings over 180 appearances with Oakland. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Petit was 2-1 with a 1.66 ERA in 21.2 innings over 26 games. He made a career-high 80 appearances in 2019.
In his 13-year career — including stops with the Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels — Petit is 42-41 with a 3.93 ERA in 826 innings across 437 appearances, 59 of which have been starts.
Giants pitcher Sergio Romo steps forward to throw a pitch in relief during a night game agains the San Diego Padres on May 11, 2010 at AT&T Park in San Francisco. (Shutterstock)
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