The final month of the Major League Baseball regular season has arrived, and so has the September roster expansion from 26 to 28 players. The Colorado Rockies announced that they have recalled left-handed pitcher Ryan Rolison and catcher Drew Romo to fill their two open roster spots.
Rolison, 28, made his big league debut earlier this season and has had multiple stints on the big league roster. In 26 appearances he has posted a 7.41 ERA with a 6.89 FIP and 21 strikeouts over 37 ⅔ innings.
The Rockies
originally selected Rolison in the first round of the 2018 draft as a starting pitcher out of Ole Miss. The former top prospect suffered a series of setbacks throughout his minor league career–including multiple arm and shoulder surgeries–before a move to the bullpen last season helped to facilitate his eventual big league debut.
Romo, who just turned 24-years-old, was drafted 35th overall in 2020 right out of high school and was largely touted as the Rockies’ catcher of the future.
He made his major league debut last season with a brief cup of coffee. In 16 games and 53 plate appearances he hit .176/.208/.235 with three doubles and six RBIs, striking out 18 times while drawing two walks.
Romo entered spring training this year with the opportunity to earn the backup catcher role behind assumed starter Jacob Stallings. However, it was Hunter Goodman that ended up seizing the starting role, leading Romo to be optioned to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes.
In a minor league spring training game, Romo suffered from a fractured finger after sliding into a base. This injury caused him to miss significant time to start the season. He didn’t join the Isotopes’ active roster until late May, where he found himself lagging behind teammate Braxton Fulford (no. 27 PuRP) in terms of offensive performance.
Romo struggled to find his footing early on. Through his first 22 games from May 21st through the end of June he hit .222/.284/.358 with five doubles, two home runs, and six RBIs. He struck out 29 times and drew six walks.
His hitting has improved immensely since the start of July. In 38 games since July 1st he has hit .288/.355/.439 with six doubles, five home runs, and 17 RBIs. He’s also improved his walk rate, drawing 12 free passes to 34 strikeouts.
Romo is still a strong defensive catcher, and has worked on improving his throws back to the mound–which had previously been a point of criticism. Now he has the next month to help the Rockies find out where he might fit in the club’s future behind the plate.
The Rockies’ 40-man roster is currently full.
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