It’s easy for offseason waiver claims to slip through the cracks.
Thaddeus Ward and René Pinto, claimed on the same day last November, didn’t end up seeing any MLB playing time in 2025. Sam Hilliard, a claim in 2024, didn’t make an impact, either.
Once in a while, though, an offseason waiver claim ends up contributing.
Cole Sulser, claimed back in 2019, became part of a deal that netted the O’s a high draft pick and a couple of prospects. The same can be said for Bryan Baker, whose 3.73 ERA in Baltimore enticed the Rays to part with a high pick of their own. And, of course, how about the claim of Ramón Urías in 2020? The do-it-all infielder accumulated over 10.0 bWAR in his Orioles career.
Baltimore is hoping that Drew Romo, recently claimed off waivers from the Colorado Rockies, falls into the latter category.
Romo isn’t the typical player you’ll find available on waivers. The catcher, a first-round pick in the 2020 draft, was ranked as the ninth-best prospect in the Rockies’ system in 2024, according to MLB Pipeline.
Romo has lived up to his draft-night reputation of being an outstanding defensive catcher, according to Pipeline. His scouting grades in ‘24 reflected that, too, with 60 grades on his arm and field tools. Offensively, the 24-year-old is looking to regain his old form.
In 2024, Romo’s trajectory was only trending up. In 85 games with Triple-A Albuquerque, the switch-hitter posted a .297 batting average with 14 home runs, good for an .837 OPS. The aggressive hitter only walked 16 times, but he paired it with a miniscule strikeout rate.
That performance was good enough to earn a cup of coffee in the majors. Romo struggled in those 16 games, though, hitting just .176 in his brief stint.
He failed to build on that momentum in 2025.
Romo’s numbers in Triple-A took a dip, but he still hit .264 with a .738 OPS. He surged as a right-handed hitter, too, mashing .306 with an OPS close to .850 in 53 plate appearances. But he still wasn’t able to make an impact in the major leagues.
With all that in mind, it still is a bit puzzling that Colorado would part ways with their former first-rounder. A mid-700’s OPS with quality defense behind the dish still does just fine, especially for a 24-year-old.
There is quality talent at the position in the big leagues for the Rockies, with Hunter Goodman as arguably the team’s best player and Braxton Fulford posting an OPS over 1.100 in Triple-A last season. But hey, something about one man’s toxic sludge being another man’s potpourri.
I don’t know, it’s some kind of soup.
Baltimore already has two great options at catcher in the big leagues in Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo, and conventional wisdom would tell you that Craig Albernaz will try to have both of them in the lineup as frequently as possible. Basallo has shown the ability to play a quality defensive first base, too.
So, having a third catcher on the active roster could make sense.
Let’s say, for example, that the O’s are facing a right-handed starter. Rutschman, in this case, needs a day off and slots in the lineup at designated hitter. Basallo, a powerful lefty, gets the start at first base. Could the switch-hitting Romo get a start at catcher?
Or, perhaps, against a lefty, Rutschman is at DH again with Coby Mayo at first base. Maybe Romo, and the right-handed hitting prowess he flashed in 2025 paired with quality defense, would get the nod over Basallo behind the dish.
Whatever the case may be, one thing is certain: the Orioles struggled mightily with stability at the catcher position in 2025, and it wasn’t on the shoulders of their talent. Due to injuries, a whopping seven players made a start behind the dish for Baltimore last season. Adding risk-free, big-league-ready talent to the list of catching possibilities can’t hurt.
If the O's decide to carry a third catcher on the roster, Romo and Maverick Handley seem to be the leading in-house contenders. There could be more contenders coming in from outside the organization, too.
Romo isn’t your typical waiver claim. Only time will tell if he can play up to his potential and add his name to the likes of Sulser, Baker and Urías.