Austin Allen Romine (born November 22, 1988) is an American professional baseball catcher who is a free agent.
[7][8] After competing for the major league backup catcher job in spring training, Romine was assigned to the Double-A Trenton Thunder to begin the 2011 season.
[10] After injuries to two catchers, first to Russell Martin and then Francisco Cervelli, the Yankees promoted Romine to the major leagues on September 10.
[11] In the seventh inning of the September 11 game against the Angels, Romine made his major league debut behind the plate.
[14] On August 4, Romine hit the first home run of his Major League career off of San Diego Padres pitcher Dale Thayer.
[21] During spring training in 2016, Romine won the backup catcher competition over top catching prospect Gary Sánchez.
[24] Romine became the primary catcher for the Yankees after Gary Sánchez was injured in June 2018, and again re-injured in July.
[25] On October 8, Romine pitched in the top of the ninth inning in a 16–1 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the 2018 American League Division Series, becoming only the second position player to ever pitch in the postseason, the first since Toronto Blue Jays infielder Cliff Pennington in the 2015 American League Championship Series against the Kansas City Royals.
[32] On August 12, 2021 Romine was activated from the injured list by the Cubs and entered the game as a pinch hitter and took over catching duties in a blowout loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
In the top of this 9th inning, Romine's brother Andrew, a utility infielder with the Cubs, moved from the shortstop position to pitcher, making it an all-Romine battery.
[36] On May 10, Romine had his contract selected to the active roster after Max Stassi and Kurt Suzuki were placed on the COVID-19 injured list.
On July 24, it was announced that Romine, along with teammates Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, would not be allowed to travel with the Cardinals to Toronto for a scheduled series against the Blue Jays, due to his lack of a COVID-19 vaccination.
On December 27, 2022, Romine re-signed with the Reds on a minor league contract that included an invitation to spring training.