Sergio Romo Designated for Assignment by Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Thursday they designated veteran reliever Sergio Romo for assignment.

In February, Romo signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers worth $3 million. It looked like a wise investment at the time. Despite turning 34 in March, the right-hander appeared in 40 games for the San Francisco Giants in 2016 and posted a 2.64 ERA.

Romo has made 30 appearances this season, allowing 17 earned runs in 25 innings. His last appearance came in the Dodgers' 5-4 win over the Kansas City Royals on July 8. He pitched a scoreless one-third of an inning after replacing Luis Avilan in the top of the eighth. 

In spite of his struggles, Romo could get another chance elsewhere. His experience would be valuable to a team with postseason aspirations. He pitched in the playoffs in four different seasons with the Giants, three of which ended with a World Series title. In 23.1 postseason innings, he has a 3.09 ERA.

To some extent, Romo has also been the victim of bad luck as well, which could signal a regression to the mean in the second half. According to FanGraphs, he's allowing a career-high 2.52 home runs per nine innings despite having a fly-ball rate (40.0 percent) that's slightly below his career average (41.9 percent).

The price to acquire a proven relief pitcher can be pretty steep, especially near the non-waiver trade deadline. Romo represents a more cost effective—albeit still risky—addition for general managers looking to add bullpen help.