Following 2025 Success, Mikey Romero turns page to ‘crucial’ next year
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After being selected by Boston that July, Romero would only suit up in 53 games over the 2022 and 2023 seasons due to lingering back issues. The same injury also caused him to miss the beginning of the 2024 season before a much-anticipated return that May.
“The 2024 season was interesting for me,” Romero told SoxProspects.com. “I came back in the first week of May and was on a program where I was building back up in games. I started playing three games a week for four weeks. It then went up to playing four to five games a week and then I was back to normal. That is why I only played 77 games last year. Everyone acts like I didn’t play much that season, but I felt like I was there all year, but just didn’t get to play as much due to the buildout progression.”
Across the 77 games the California native logged during that 2024 season between High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland, Romero carried an .808 OPS and hit 16 home runs, his first since he was in the FCL in 2022. That success returning from the injury set up Romero for a great offseason.
“I felt like I improved on a lot of things after the ending of 2024,” Romero added. “I went into the offseason and wanted to work on a lot of things, most of it being the underlying stuff. I felt like I really did that and it was good to see the improvement and see the success come after I did that. I feel like it was a good year. If you look at the stat line, you could say it just went ok. But, if you look at the underlying data and the stuff I needed to work on, it was a lot better. I was happy about it and felt it was a good year for me in the sense of being healthy. I also came into the offseason with a lot of stuff to work on too.”
That progress carried into the 2025 season as Romero ultimately earned a promotion to Triple-A Worcester, where he found himself the youngest player in the locker room.
“It is funny that when I play second or third base, I will have small talk with guys on the bases about their seasons,” Romero said. “Sometimes the age question comes up with guys around the league. They ask how old I am and are always shocked that I am only 21 and I am in Triple-A. It is cool that I get that same reaction every single time. My goal when I got drafted was to be a big leaguer when I was 21 or 22 years old, so I feel like it’s a normal thing.”
The Triple-A clubhouse is one of the more unique rooms in minor league baseball. You have MLB veterans, career minor leaguers, and young top prospects all sharing the same clubhouse together. It truly is a vastly different experience you will get from any clubhouse in the lower minors.
“Being in that Triple-A locker room was a very cool feeling,” Romero added. “I had a locker this year right next to Trayce Thompson in Worcester and it was cool getting to talk to him because he has obviously been around the game for a while. He had a lot of good stuff to share with me about playing the game the right way. I got to see how he showed up every single day and went about his routine. It was very cool to be the youngest guy in that locker room because I know how hard I have worked to get there. It’s always cool to be around guys with show time. I struggled when I first got to Triple-A and couldn’t buy a hit. I was chasing at things I shouldn’t have been and not swinging at things I should’ve been swinging at. I got to see how the veterans went about their business in a very mature way and it helped me. When we had a game at 7, they were not rolling to the field at 3. They were rolling in at 11 and getting their body right with a good routine. I really enjoyed watching guys like Nick Sogard and Nate Eaton when they were around because of what they did on a day-to-day basis.”
Along with the new challenge of the promotion came extended playing time at a new position that he had yet to play in his professional career.
“I got really comfortable at third base this year and I felt like I played my best defense there,” Romero said. “The first time I ever played third in pro ball was the Spring Breakout Game last year. I played third in high school a little bit but hadn’t played there since. I made an error in that game, which I told myself I should’ve taken a few reps there before the game. I really enjoyed playing there this year. It is a position where I feel comfortable at reacting to the ball off the bat and trusting my hands. I also enjoyed playing second base this year too. You have a lot of time to secure the ball to turn double plays or get it over to first base. It was fun for me to be able to move around.”
Romero wasn’t the only former 1st round pick of the Red Sox to transition to playing third base in the organization, as his good friend Marcelo Mayer transitioned to the hot corner in Boston this past season and made it look seamless.
“Marcelo and I will talk baseball about hitting or defense constantly,” Romero said. “I remember we had a good conversation earlier in the year because my defense was not very good to start the year. I made a lot of errors that I should not have made. They were on plays that needed to be made. I remember telling him that I needed to figure it out. I pride myself on my defense and when I make errors, I hate myself for it. I would ask him what he would do when he was not feeling great out there. His advice was to charge everything when taking pregame reps. Obviously in the game you won’t be charging a ball hit 106 MPH at you, but pregame taking ground balls I started charging everything like he told me. It clicked for me to be aggressive and not be afraid to make mistakes. Marcelo has always been a good defender his entire life any position he has always played, and we are always talking about ways to improve.”
The defense wasn’t the only part of Romero’s game that was improving this past season.
“I felt strong all year,” Romero noted about his offense. “I hit PRs in 90th percentile exit velo, so all that stuff was all good last year. I don’t like the term of it being sneaky power. In 2024, I hit 16 homers and this past year I hit 17. I always find that I tend to slug. I don’t really try to slug, but it happens naturally. This year, my average was down a little bit. I feel like I should be above .270 with the kind of hitter I am.”
Double-A Portland had a good coaching duo leading the way in 2025 with Chris Hess and first-year coach Johnny Reina. Reina, who began his sports career by working in sales with Pawtucket many years back, most recently worked for Driveline before rejoining the Red Sox organization as Assistant Double-A hitting coach in Portland this past season.
“Watching Mikey grow as a hitter this year was fun to watch,” Reina said. “The way he trained with purpose and intent on a day-in, day-out basis really moved the needle in his development and pushed the other guys around him to improve as well. The constant work he put in facing arms off the Trajekt in uncomfortable, game-like environments was a game-changer for him. He relentlessly worked on tailoring his approach against different repertoires, and the growth showed on the field through his at-bats.”
Romero will be the first person to tell you that this offseason is one of the most important so far in his young career. The offseason will include an invite to Red Sox Rookie Development Camp at Fenway, an appearance at Fan Fest, and an invite to Story Camp, hosted by Trevor Story in Dallas.
“I have been continuing to get stronger and building muscle this offseason,” Romero said. “My two main focuses are getting faster and adding arm strength. Adding arm strength has gone well so far. The facility I train at is very pitcher-oriented. I have been talking to all those guys about how they put on arm strength. I will go out and long toss with them for two days a week and I will pull down one to maybe two days, depending on how the arm is feeling. It’s been different to learn from them and get my arm stronger. I am also doing a lot of explosive work with my lifts and a lot of jumping to get faster. I am trying to keep my weight up. I ended the year at 195 pounds. At the end of spring training last year, I got sick. I was 205 pounds the whole camp and it was perfect playing weight. I got sick and got down to 197 pounds right when I got to Portland. I was so sick and it was rough playing at the start. I got back up to 203 at one point but I was fighting it the whole year. My goal is to be above 203 pounds next year.”
Photo Credit: Mikey Romero by Kelly O'Connor