Losing Romine definitely stings, but I don’t think anyone was surprised to see him sign with another team this offseason. The Yankees never really seemed all that interested in bringing him back and Romine wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to make more money and sign with a team that would give him the opportunity to be their starting catcher.
The fact that Higgy was out of minor league options also made it an easier decision to let Romine go. The Yankees weren’t going to put themselves in a position where they had to designate Higgy for assignment and after he did a solid job backing up Romine the past two seasons he’s more than deserving of this promotion.