Cincinnati Reds: Robert Stephenson and Sal Romano, friends off the field, competitors on it

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Robert Stephenson and Sal Romano are taking that friendly competition thing to a new level. They aren’t tossing darts or playing 18 holes for bragging rights.

Stephenson and Romano are competing for a job in the big leagues. They are candidates 1A and 1B for the fifth spot in the Reds rotation. The pitcher deemed to be 1A and 1B depends on who you ask. That’s how close they are.

The right-handers are also close friends. Romano, in fact, was the best man in Stephenson’s wedding in November. They room together during spring training.

“He was the first guy I ever met with the Reds,” Romano said. “We both signed the last day of 2011. We came out here and met at the airport. We hit it off. It’s definitely a lot more than a friendship. It’s a brotherhood.”

Their answers about how they handle their relationship while competing are similar:

“I think the end result is we both want to be up there together, pitching on back-to-back days,” Romano said. “I’ll never root against somebody like that. We want to win. I think both of us have that opportunity and the talent to be able to help the team up there in any way possible. I will always be rooting for him. It’s a friendly competition. We feed off each other.”

Said Stephenson: “The goal for us is to be able to pitch in the rotation together some day. It sounds to me like that’s not completely out of the question. I’m going to go in and compete for one of those rotation spots. We'll see what happens. But ultimately, the goal is to be in there together.”

Stephenson is right: They could both end up in the rotation. But it’s unlikely to happen at the start of the season. Reds manager Bryan Price has guaranteed spots to right-handers Homer Bailey, Anthony DeSclafani and Luis Castillo. Price has left-hander Brandon Finnegan just a tick behind the first three.

Romano, 24, and Stephenson, 25, are next on the list, although Michael Lorenzen and Tyler Mahle are competing as well.

But Romano and Stephenson are favorites based on what they did late last year in the rotation. Stephenson went 5-4 with a 3.30 ERA over his last 12 appearances. Romano went 3-3 with a 3.17 ERA over his last eight starts.

That was nice way to close it out after some spotty performances earlier in the year.

“I did a lot for my confidence,” Stephenson said. “That first year and then being the bullpen last year really took a hit on me. I think once I was able to go down (to the minors) and get my head screwed on again and focus, everything went really well for me in the second half.”

Said Romano: “It’s definitely a big confidence booster to know what to expect up there. I’m going to take everything I learned up there in the second half of the season and apply that to my spring game.”

Romano and Stephenson’s friendship goes back to 2011, the year they both were drafted.

That aren’t a likely match. Stephenson was the 27th pick overall; Romano was a 23rd-round pick, although he signed for $450,000, rather than go to Tennessee. Stephenson is from California; Romano from New York. Romano’s a powerhouse at 6-foot-5, 270 pounds; Stephenson is lean at 6-3, 220.

But . . .

“We met at the airport before Instructional League,” Stephenson said. “We hit it off right away and we’ve been close ever since.”

They ended up debuting as professional the next year in Billings. They’ve been frequent teammates in the minors.

Stephenson was the club’s No. 1 prospect by 2013. Romano has been further down the list, but he’s been in the top 10 since 2015.

While both had success late last year, both knew they had to come back better this spring to have a chance to win a spot in the rotation.

“I really worked on my endurance, trying to be a durable guy,” Romano said. “I’ve been known as a guy who could pitch deep into ballgames as long as I’m in my groove.

“And I really worked on my changeup a lot. That was such a big pitch for me down the stretch. I feel really ready to go.”

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Stephenson took an unconventional approach.

“When I was throwing my bullpens, I was using this three-colored plate,” Stephenson said. “Almost like a gimmick thing for little kids. Red in the middle, green on sides, yellow on the corners. And I would throw at 70 feet, try to hit the corners for 15 pitches and then bring it back in.

“Working on trying to hit my spots with fastball and get better fastball command.”

Gimmicky, but effective.

“It’s shown up so far,” Stephenson said. “I’m excited for the spring. I feel really good good about.”

It’s may the best friend win.

“We talked about it,” Stephenson said. “It’s messed up that we have to fight against each other. But we’re not going to come at each other throats. We’re going to do the best we can.”