A’s claim Drew Rom on waivers

The Brewers needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the addition of Ji Hwan Bae on Sunday and unfortunately Rom drew the short straw this time. It’s possible that the 26-year-old southpaw could attract interest on waivers.

Rom holds a 3.18 ERA in 5 2/3 innings for the Brewers this year, striking out 11. He’s the active roster spot the Brewers needed for signing Bryse Wilson. The 26-year-old has pitched well in Triple-A as well, with a 2.51 ERA in 31 2/3 innings and 47 strikeouts, so he figures to be back in the bigs at some point.

The 26-year-old southpaw has made four appearances out of the Brewers’ bullpen this season, registering a 3.38 ERA, 1.88 WHIP and a 10/4 K/BB ratio across 5 1/3 innings. He’ll add a fresh arm to the club’s bullpen for at least a few days while they decide how to replace Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) in their rotation.

With Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) back, the Brewers will send Rom back to Triple-A, where he has posted a 3.04 ERA and a 39/9 K/BB in 26 2/3 innings.

Welcome back, Drew Rom. The former Orioles prospect made eight starts with the Cardinals in 2023 after being sent to St. Louis in the Jack Flaherty trade, but he needed shoulder surgery afterwards and spent a year and a half rehabbing. The Brewers signed him to a minor league deal in December and had him work out of the pen for the first time with very nice results to date; he had a 3.04 ERA and a 39/9 K/BB in 26 2.3 innings for Indianapolis. He does have two option years left, so he’ll probably do some bouncing back and forth between the majors and Triple-A over the next few months.

Rom hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2023. The 26-year-old left-hander will be an organizational depth piece for Milwaukee in 2026.

Rom has been jettisoned from the Cardinals’ 40-man roster after missing all of last season recovering from arthroscopic shoulder surgery. The 24-year-old southpaw came over from the Orioles back in 2023 as part of the Jack Flaherty trade and made eight starts during the late stages of that season.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol indicated that it’s not necessarily season-ending for Rom, but he’s going to wind up being sidelined until the late stages of the year. There’s a chance he’s back for a handful of appearances at some point in September.

The 24-year-old has been dealing with left bicep tendonitis since the end of spring training and it appears he’ll need more time to ramp up before making his season debut. Last week, Rom visited Dr. Keith Meister in Texas to evaluate his bicep but there hasn’t been any details provided from that visit.

Rom has already resumed playing catch, but is going to require a lengthy ramp-up period before being ready to make his season debut. He was shut down earlier this month with a left forearm strain and is apparently dealing with left biceps tendinitis.