Drew

Romo

Romo heads back to the minors with Colorado making a flurry of roster moves in the final week of a season in which they will finish with fewer than 50 wins.

Romo hoped to be the Rockies’ starting catcher this year, but he’s only now making his 2025 debut in the majors. He hit .264/.329/.409 with seven homers in 60 games for Albuquerque, and he’s probably now only auditioning to serve as Hunter Goodman’s backup next year.

Romo was competing for the backup catching gig to Jacob Stallings, but that will now be a battle between Austin Nola and Hunter Goodman. Amador is one of the top hitting prospects in the Colorado system, and he should see time with the Rockies before 2025 comes to a close.

Stallings, 35, was re-signed to a one-year contract in November with a mutual option for 2025. The expectation is that he’ll see the bulk of the starts behind the plate and Drew Romo, Hunter Goodman and Austin Nola will battle for backup duties. Even playing at Coors Field half of the time, Stallings offers minimal fantasy upside for the coming campaign.

Since it’s Hunter Goodman and not Jacob Stallings doing to bulk of the catching for the Rockies, we’re not exactly mad what’s going on with Romo here. Still, this is getting pretty extreme; the 23-year-old has started just two of 14 games since Sept. 5. It seems quite obvious that he isn’t being viewed as a 2025 catching solution by the Rockies.

Romo hit .297/.339/.499 in Triple-A prior to his callup, but he hasn’t impressed offensively in nine games since joining the Rockies, going 7-for-33 with no homers. His average exit velocity is 81 mph, and he’s topped out at 101 mph so far. Of course, it’s just nine games. However, he’s going to need to show something this month if he wants to be penciled in as the Rockies’ starting catcher next year.

Romo is presumably coming up as a one-for-one replacement for Elias Diaz, who was released. Romo hit .297 with 14 home runs and 60 RBI in 85 games at Triple-A this year. He should be the primary catcher for the Rockies for the rest of the year. Romo has appeal in NL-Only leagues and potentially deeper mixed leagues as well.

The Rockies still seem pretty high on Elias Díaz, but his defense is a real problem. Romo would be a clear upgrade there without being too much of a downgrade offensively. The Rockies might not make the switch at any point in 2024, but maybe Romo can apply some pressure with a strong showing in Triple-A.

Romo, the 35th overall pick in the 2020 draft, was promoted after hitting .254/.313/.440 for Double-A Hartford. His stock has tumbled some this year, but he could still see the majors next year and perhaps turn into the Rockies’ starting catcher in 2024.

Romo’s home was the fourth of the season in the Northwest League, and his steal puts him up to six. While not an elite runner, the 20-year-old backstop is a quality athlete who is one of the few catchers that has a chance to put up around double-digit steals. He also shows one of the best hit tools of any player behind the plate, and has put it to use with a .310 average over 41 games with Spokane. Romo is the Colorado catcher of the future, and has a good chance to be a fantasy-relevant backstop when he’s ready to go around 2024.