Red Sox prospect Mikey Romero catching eye of Alex Cora in spring training

Before Wednesday afternoon’s Grapefruit League contest against the Rays at JetBlue Park, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was asked about which prospects outside of The Big Three of Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and Marcelo Mayer have caught his eye so far this spring.

“Mikey Romero, the last three, four days,” Cora quickly responded. “He’s a good player, a really good player. Good at-bats, good defender. Mikey Romero is a good player. We just got to get 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 consistently and I like him as a player. … Good instincts, really good instincts.”

Romero, who turned 21 in January, is not in major-league camp with the Red Sox in Fort Myers but has appeared in three Grapefruit League games thus far. The left-handed hitting infielder has gone 2-for-3 with one RBI, one run scored, and one walk while seeing playing time at second base and shortstop.

Originally selected by the Red Sox with the 24th overall pick in the 2022 draft out of Orange Lutheran High School (Calif.), Romero has already endured plenty on and off the field to this point in his professional career. The San Diego forwent his commitment to Louisiana State by signing with Boston for an under-slot $2.3 million and made a positive first impression in his brief pro debut between the rookie-level Florida Complex League and Low-A Salem.

Romero’s first full season in the professional ranks was not nearly as memorable. He opened the 2023 campaign on the injured list due to a stress reaction in his lower back that he suffered during spring training and did not return to action until late June. He then spent the better part of the next two months rehabbing with the FCL Red Sox and Salem before being promoted to High-A Greenville in mid-August. Just three games into his first stint with the Drive, however, Romero sustained a stress fracture that cost him the remainder of the year.

Altogether, Romero struggled to a .214/.294/.286 slash line with five doubles, two triples, 13 RBIs, 15 runs scored, two stolen bases, 14 walks, and 25 strikeouts over 34 total games (144 plate appearances) across three levels in 2023. He dropped from No. 6 to No. 16 in Baseball America’s Red Sox prospects rankings heading into 2024, though more pressing issues were at hand for Romero on a personal level.

On Valentine’s Day last year, Romero’s father — Mike Romero — passed away following a lengthy battle with tongue cancer. Mikey Romero then reported to Fort Myers for camp but was sidelined by back spasms and missed roughly the first month of the 2024 season as a result. He completed a three-game rehab assignment in the FCL before re-joining Greenville on May 15. From that point forward, he looked like a different hitter.

Romero consistently lined the ball in the air in the process of batting .271/.312/.509 with 20 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, 40 RBIs, 40 runs scored, one stolen base, 16 walks, and 58 strikeouts over 59 games (276 plate appearances) for Greenville. He was named the South Atlantic League Player of the Month for July and subsequently received a promotion to Double-A Portland in late August. He then closed out the season by slashing .243/.257/.543 with three doubles, six home runs, 12 RBIs, 11 runs scored, two walks, and 25 strikeouts in 16 games (74 plate appearances) for the Sea Dogs.

Between the FCL, Greenville, and Portland in 2024, Romero batted .271/.312/.509 with 24 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs, 53 RBIs, 54 runs scored, one stolen base, 18 walks, and 84 strikeouts over 78 games (362 plate appearances). Among the 31 Red Sox minor-leaguers who made at least 360 trips to the plate last year, Romero most notably ranked second in isolated power (.238), fourth in slugging percentage, ninth in OPS (.821) and wRC+ (127), and 11th in batting average and wOBA (.366), per FanGraphs.

On the other side of the ball, Romero saw most of his playing time last season come at either second base or shortstop. With Portland in particular, he made 14 starts at shortstop and just one at second base, committing two errors in 52 total defensive chances. He is listed at 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds but currently weighs in at around 205-207 pounds as he continues to add muscle to his athletic frame.

In addition to shedding light on his strength gains, Romero looked back on a season that netted him 2024 SoxProspects.com Comeback Player of the Year honors when speaking with Rob Bradford on Audacy’s ‘Baseball Isn’t Boring’ Podcast earlier Wednesday.

“Last year was a really good year for me, finishing at Double-A,” Romero said. “You can look at the stats and see that it was a great year. I think just being healthy, and playing — towards the end of the season — every day, it was great. To get to play for [Iggy Suarez at High-A and Chad Epperson at Double-A], I learned so much. Being with the older guys once I got to Double-A was pretty cool, to just pick their brains and see how they go about their business.”

Romero enters 2025 ranked by Baseball America as the No. 18 prospect in Boston’s farm system. He is projected to break camp with Portland next month and is aiming to carry over the momentum he gained last year into the upcoming season. Simultaneously, he is looking to take advantage of the opportunity he is getting by playing in big-league spring training games for the first time and sharing a dugout with established veterans like Alex Bregman.

“It’s pretty awesome,” said Romero. “Whether I’m starting or whether I’m backing up, coming in in the sixth inning. It’s just cool to be in the same dugout as a lot of these guys. Bregman, just a bunch of these guys. It’s really cool. Getting to see how they go about their business, not only for me playing but also just to be around the caliber of players we have in this clubhouse. It’s pretty cool. I’m taking advantage of it and I’m excited.”

Though the past year has undoubtedly been tough for Romero, he has been able to maintain a positive mindset thanks in part to his faith and the implementation of routines that he expects will keep him healthy. He also got married in November and is looking forward to what lies ahead in both his life and playing career.

“Starting off the year with my dad passing was, obviously, tough on my family, on me,” Romero said. “But I think the Lord was gracious to me. I got to play a full year healthy, I had a pretty damn good year, and to get to the cherry on top I got to marry my now-wife. Going into 2025, there’s no better feeling to have her here with me as well as to be healthy and to be getting spring training reps and just to be around the guys.”