Angels sign Romano, Rays designate Peters for assignment

December 18, 2025

By Kevin Glew

Cooperstowners in Canada

A couple of Canadian baseball notes:

Romano signs with Angels

The Los Angeles Angels have signed right-hander Jordan Romano to a one-year, $2-million deal.

Jeff Passan, of ESPN.com, was the first to report the transaction.

The 32-year-old Romano (Markham, Ont.) will head to the West Coast after a rough season with the Philadelphia Phillies.

After signing a one-year, $8.5-million contract with the Phillies last December, the former Toronto Blue Jays closer proceeded to post an 8.23 ERA and record just eight saves in 49 relief appearances before he was sidelined by a season-ending finger injury in late August.

The 6-foot-5 right-hander was signed by the Phillies after he was non-tendered by the Blue Jays. Romano had undergone arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow in July 2024, which cut his last campaign with the Blue Jays short.

Romano recorded 105 saves and was a two-time All-Star in his six seasons with the Blue Jays.

In 59 games with the Blue Jays in 2023, Romano matched his career-high with 36 saves. The hard-throwing right-hander also had 36 saves in 2022 and earned the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Tip O’Neill Award, as top Canuck player.

In his three full seasons (2021 to 2023) as Blue Jays closer, his ERA was never higher than 2.90.

Originally chosen in the 10th round of the MLB draft by the Blue Jays in 2014, the Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum is entering his eighth major league season.

It’s unclear what role Romano will have with the Angels. But with the departure of closer Kenley Jansen, who signed with the Detroit Tigers this week, the Canuck reliever should have an opportunity to win the closer’s role in the spring.

Rays designate Peters for assignment

The Tampa Bay Rays designated outfielder Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) for assignment on Tuesday.

The move was made to make room on their 40-man roster for left-hander Steven Matz, whom they signed to a two-year, $15-million deal.

Peters will be outrighted back to triple-A unless he is released or another team claims him on the waiver wire.

Thanks to his defensive heroics in the outfield with the Rays’ triple-A Durham Bulls, Peters became a regular on the minor league highlight reels in 2025. 

He was also a strong contributor at the plate for the Bulls, hitting .266 with a .355 on-base percentage with 15 home runs, 76 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. For his efforts, he was named the Bulls’ MVP.

The Canuck outfielder also made his big league debut with the Rays, getting into four games with them in August. 

The 2025 season was Peters’ third in the Rays’ system after being acquired from the San Francisco Giants.

He was selected in the seventh round of the 2021 MLB draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He spent parts of two seasons in the Brewers’ organization prior to being traded to the Giants.

As a teenager, Peters honed his skills with Team Manitoba before he landed with the Okotoks Dawgs Academy. He played one game for the Western Canadian Baseball League’s Okotoks Dawgs in 2018, before enjoying a breakout campaign with them in 2019. That season, he topped the WCBL with a .397 batting average, belted 12 home runs and stole 13 bases in 52 games.