Romano appears in strong position to earn a spot in the Blue Jays' Opening Day bullpen after Rafael Dolis required an appendectomy Tuesday, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.
Dolis will be shut down for a week before he's even re-evaluated, making it likely he begins the season on the 15-day injured list. His expected absence opens up an extra spot in the bullpen, but Romano already looked on track to break camp with the Jays even before Dolis underwent the emergency procedure. Through his first four Grapefruit League outings, Romano had tossed four scoreless frames, permitting only two hits and no walks while striking out six. Given the Jays' lack of established options beyond closer Ken Giles, Romano could have good opportunity to claim a key setup role early on in the campaign.