Red Sox prospect Mikey Romero feeling ‘stronger’ this spring, ‘controlled the strike zone’ in two at-bats against the Blue Jays
On Thursday afternoon, Red Sox prospect Mikey Romero made his first spring start and left an impression on coaches in the team's 7-4 loss to the Blue Jays on the road in Dunedin, Fla.
Romero went 2-for-3 with a double and a homer in the loss. His double was a 102.8 mph missile off his bat to the wall in right-center field off Red Sox veteran Chris Bassitt in the second inning. Romero then blasted his homer 412 feet, 103.9 mph off reliever Nick Sandlin in the fourth inning.
"He just controlled the strike zone—both at-bats,” Red Sox skipper Alex Cora said. “Game-planned with the coaches, and then he went out and executed. He's a good player, like I said a few days ago. Some really good at-bats today."
The 21-year-old infielder is ticketed for Double-A Portland, where he was impressive to close out the regular season. He hit six homers with the Sea Dogs in 16 games while playing in a total of 78 games over three levels of the Sox’ system.
“Two steps [from the Majors] is not that far,” said Romero to MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “There's a lot of guys that get called up from Double-A. I'm not necessarily saying that's what is going to happen for me, but you're super close. You're really close. That's how I feel. I feel like I'm close, and I'm excited to keep my head down and work this year.”
The former first-round pick is healthy and could focus on getting ready for the upcoming season and not rehabbing an injury. He spent the 2023-24 offseason due to a stress fracture in his lower back.
“Being able to train the way I wanted to [this offseason] was great,” said Romero to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “I feel stronger, and I feel like I’m impacting the ball a lot more.”
Romero is setting his sights high as he looks towards 2025; knowing the Red Sox have the “Big 3” in Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, and Kristian Campbell, he wants to challenge and be part of that conversation.
Romero finished his second full season of pro baseball, coming back from a back issue that shut him down last August. The Orange Lutheran High School (Orange, Calif.) product finished a short rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League before rejoining Greenville in mid-May. From there, Romero was locked in offensively and defensively, providing a spark to both the Drive and Sea Dogs’ lineup.
The talented infielder knows what he is capable of, his potential, and his growth as a person on and off the baseball field.
“I know what I'm capable of doing,” said Romero on The Pesky Report Podcast, presented by Beyond the Monster. “As far as the injuries, I've just grown so much just as a person, just in my faith and my and in just everything, every aspect of life. I've grown a lot as a person.
“I wouldn't want it any other way because I know that for the rest of my career, the routine that I have daily now to get ready to play baseball is going to be something that I do for the next, however many, hopefully very long years that I'm playing. I mean, it was frustrating just because, you know, I know what I'm capable of doing on the field. And just when you're not able to do that because of, you know, discomfort or pain or whatever you're going through, it's definitely frustrating just because you were the first-rounder; you're supposed to be the guy, and you were unable to be.”
Cora has been impressed with the changes to Romero’s body physically and also likes his natural instincts while playing the game.
“Just the baseball player [he is],” said Cora. “Good at-bats, good defender. Mikey Romero is a good player. We’ve just got to [keep] him healthy. He did everything this offseason to put himself in good shape. He’s a lot stronger now. This is the first time I’ve had a look at him consistently, and I like him as a player.”
Pirates Mailbag: Konnor Griffin made the most of his first big league camp
Over the last few weeks, Pirates fans have gotten to see Konnor Griffin in action for the first time since he was drafted last year. While it is only his first spring training, Griffin has dazzled with his skillset and has been the buzz of camp. He has the tools to be a star and has not disappointed.