As much as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette, Jordan Romano has been the face of this era of Blue Jays baseball. But, his place in the franchise’s future is foggy heading into the offseason.

The 31-year-old Markham native has pitched 229.2 innings across six seasons with the Jays, saving 105 games and making two All-Star teams. But, after an injury-riddled and statistically disastrous 2024, the Blue Jays have a decision to make: tender him a contract, rework a deal, or let Romano walk?

The Blue Jays have until November 22nd to decide on a path forward, with MLB’s arbitration non-tender deadline at 7 p.m. ET on that Friday. So, which option is best?

The Blue Jays have some hard decisions in the bullpen, and they are looking to remake the reliever group with Chad Green being the only reliever really locked into a roster spot next year. They’ve already let Génesis Cabrera walk and could still non-tender Erik Swanson and Dillon Tate. But, surely they’d bring back the hometown kid?

MLB Trade Rumors estimates Romano’s 2025 arbitration contract would cost around $7.75 million, the exact number he made in 2024. If he’s anywhere close to the 2021 to 2023 Romano, who pitched to a 2.37 ERA and saved 95 games across three seasons, it’s the easiest tender in baseball. But, the latest version of Romano is full of waving red flags — and $7.75 million is a lot to invest in such uncertainty.

The righty made just 15 appearances last year, receiving multiple cortisone shots and eventually ending his season with arthroscopic surgery to address an impingement in his right elbow. When he was on the roster (though clearly not entirely healthy), Romano posted an unusable 6.59 ERA and 6.17 FIP. For a fourth straight season, Romano’s velocity dropped.

Really, this decision comes down to the medicals. If the Jays conclude Romano’s surgery cleaned everything up and he should be back to old form, he’s worth a tender. Any sort of uncertainty about what he’ll look like forward makes this price tag too high.

If the Blue Jays decide to non-tender Romano, it’s not entirely over for the Canadian in Toronto. The team could work with Romano and his agent to bring the righty back on a reformatted deal. We saw the Milwaukee Brewers do exactly this with an injured Brandon Woodruff last year.

One option for this deal is a multi-year, incentive-laden contract that protects the Blue Jays and still allows Romano to earn his full value if healthy and effective. I’m thinking of a one-year deal with a vesting option (based on innings pitched) for 2026, plus significant bonuses for surpassing certain innings or games finished milestones.

Romano would have to want to be a Blue Jay to entertain this offer. But, he is a Toronto kid with family here and the Jays are the only big league club he’s ever known — except for that one spring training with Texas. The counter, though, is he’s now 31 and the Blue Jays are no guarantee to compete this year — maybe Romano would rather use this season to rebound with a franchise sure to contend? Doesn’t Romano seem like the exact kind of reliever the Dodgers would pick up on a value deal and have closing out playoff games next October? Blasphemy, I know, I know.

You proud Jordan Romano jersey owners, I regret to inform you that this one is a real possibility. The days of the blinding red lights and electronic music to kick off save situations could be behind us.

An $8 million arbitration contract would make Romano one of the highest-paid relievers in baseball this season, and that’s a lot for any team to invest in a guy so filled with injury risk coming off the worst season of his career. But, it’s an especially difficult price to pay for a Blue Jays team that probably needs to bring in at least four other MLB relievers this winter plus upgrades to the lineup and likely a rotation arm, too.

According to reporting from Shi Davidi, the Jays may have as little as $20 million to work with this offseason, so non-tendering Romano could nearly double their available budget room. When you start to look at Toronto’s many needs and the salary room they have to address them, letting Romano walk starts to feel like an increasing certitude.