Juan Carlos Romero (born June 4, 1976) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles,

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

, and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Playing career

Romero played college baseball at the University of Mobile. He was drafted by the

in the 21st round of the

1997 MLB draft The 1997 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1997. A total of 1607 players were drafted over the course of 92 rounds. First round selections ...

. Romero was traded by the Twins to the Angels on December 9, 2005, for infielder Alexi Casilla. Romero was one of the Puerto Rican players to agree to play for Puerto Rico in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. On October 6, 2006, the Angels declined his contract option for 2007, making him a free agent. On December 15, he signed a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox. However, on June 9, 2007, he was designated for assignment. and then released on June 19, 2007.

Philadelphia Phillies

On June 23, 2007, Romero signed with the

. Romero finished the 2007 season with a stellar ERA of 1.81 in 56.1 innings pitched. Romero improved a weak Phillies' bullpen plagued by inconsistency and injuries, which posted a 3.17 ERA in the final stretch of September. He also played a crucial role in the Phillies' triumph on the last day of the season, when in a 6–1 victory over the Washington Nationals that capped the team's comeback against the New York Mets, Romero pitched one inning and struck out two. Romero was named the Phillies' top reliever for the postseason. On September 10, 2007, Romero agreed to an multi-year deal to remain with the Phillies. On October 29, 2008, Romero was the winning pitcher in Game 5 of the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

World Series, which clinched the first major championship in the city of Philadelphia in 25-years. Along with his win in Game 3, he became the first Puerto Rican pitcher to win two games in one World Series. His club option for the 2011 season was declined by the Phillies at the end of the 2010 season, but he agreed to return to the team by signing a one-year contract. He was designated for assignment on June 16. and was released on June 24.

Drug suspension

Prior to the 2009 season, Romero was suspended 50-games for testing positive for

androstenedione Androstenedione, or 4-androstenedione (abbreviated as A4 or Δ4-dione), also known as androst-4-ene-3,17-dione, is an endogenous weak androgen steroid hormone and intermediate in the biosynthesis of estrone and of testosterone from dehydroepia ...

, a performance-enhancing drug banned by MLB. Romero said that he bought a supplement named 6-OXO Extreme from a GNC store at the

Cherry Hill Mall The Cherry Hill Mall, owned by Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), was originally known as Cherry Hill Shopping Center, commonly reported as the first indoor, climate-controlled shopping center east of the Mississippi River in the ...

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a township within Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a population of 74,553, which reflected an increase of 3,508 (+4.94%) from the 71,045 counted in the 2010 census.

, and that he was cleared to take it by two nutritionists. Romero actually tested positive on August 26, 2008, but he took the case to arbitration, allowing him to pitch in the postseason and World Series; after he stopped taking the supplement, he tested negative before the playoffs. Due to the suspension, Romero lost $1.25-million, so he sued the makers of the supplement Ergopharm, Inc, along with

The Vitamin Shoppe The Vitamin Shoppe (formerly Vitamin Shoppe Industries, Inc., stylized as theVitaminShoppe) is an American, New Jersey-based retailer of nutritional supplements. It also operated three stores in Canada under the name VitaPath from January 2013 u ...

and GNC for his lost salary and punitive damages. Following the 50-game suspension, Romero returned to the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in May 2009. Romero returned to the Phillies on June 3, 2009.

Washington Nationals

On June 29, 2011, Romero signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals. Only July 24, 2011, Romero was granted his release by the Nationals.

New York Yankees

On July 14, 2011, Romero signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees. He made 11 appearances for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, facing 55 batter, striking out 10, and allowing four earned runs. He requested and was granted his release from the Yankees on August 8.

Colorado Rockies

On August 15, 2011, Romero signed a major league contract with the

St. Louis Cardinals

On December 15, 2011, Romero signed a one-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. On May 14, 2012, Romero was released by the Cardinals.

Baltimore Orioles

On May 24, 2012, Romero signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. He elected free agency on July 10.

Cleveland Indians

On July 21, 2012, Romero signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians, and was assigned to the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

Second stint with the Baltimore Orioles

On August 13, 2012 Romero was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Triple-A infielder Carlos Rojas.

Second stint with the Washington Nationals

On March 22, 2013, Romero signed a minor league contract with a invitation to spring training with the Washington Nationals.

Pericos de Puebla

In 2015, after sitting out the entire 2014 season, he signed with the Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican League

International career

World Baseball Classic (Puerto Rico)

Romero has appeared in three editions of the World Baseball Classic (2006, 2009, 2013) and did play for Team Puerto Rico in the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

, despite his retirement.http://www.elnuevodia.com/deportes/beisbol/nota/losveteransdetodoslosclasicos-2291061/ (Spanish)

Post Baseball

On July 9, 2017, Romero was on the Phillies radio broadcast team doing color commentary. He also is now a pitching coach in Alabama.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, J.C. 1976 births Living people Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Boston Red Sox players Clearwater Threshers players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Columbus Clippers players Edmonton Trappers players Elizabethton Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Gigantes de Carolina players Lakewood BlueClaws players Long Island Ducks players Los Angeles Angels players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Mexican League baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Mobile Rams baseball players New Britain Rock Cats players Norfolk Tides players Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in baseball Pericos de Puebla players Philadelphia Phillies players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Canada Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Mexico Puerto Rican sportspeople in doping cases Reading Phillies players Rochester Red Wings players Salt Lake Buzz players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players St. Louis Cardinals players Syracuse Chiefs players United States national baseball team players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2017 World Baseball Classic players Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games