The Milwaukee Brewers selected left-hander Drew Rom from Triple-A Nashville on June 6, 2026, adding him to the roster ahead of Saturday’s game against the Colorado Rockies while placing fellow lefty Brian Fitzpatrick on the 15-day injured list with an elbow injury; Milwaukee had an opening on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding move was required.
Rom arrives after converting to a full-time relief role this season and putting up a 3.04 ERA in 22 appearances for Nashville, where he paired a career-high 33.9% strikeout rate with a four-seamer that averaged 92.5 mph and a sweeper averaging 83.1 mph. The numbers reflected a substantive shift from his earlier work as a starter and were the immediate reason the Brewers reached down to fill a left-handed need.
But the simple box-score comparison produces friction: Rom last pitched in the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2023, when he posted an 8.02 ERA across eight starts. He did not pitch in 2024 because of a biceps injury, and additional health issues limited him to seven minor league appearances last season before he signed with Milwaukee as a minor league free agent in December.
Fitzpatrick’s placement on the 15-day IL followed an abrupt exit Friday after a perfect inning against Colorado; he had allowed one earned run across 6 2/3 innings for Milwaukee before the injury. The vacancy pushed the Brewers to act immediately, and selecting Rom provided a left-handed arm with recent Triple-A success without needing to clear a 40-man spot.
The numbers that earned Rom the call are clear: a 3.04 ERA in Triple-A, elevated velocity on his four-seamer and a swing-and-miss sweeper, plus a strikeout rate north of 33%. The unresolved element is the gulf between that profile and his 2023 major-league results — an 8.02 ERA that came over eight big-league starts and underlines why a promotion does not erase risk.
Milwaukee has not specified how it will use Rom after the selection. The club moved him onto the major-league roster for the series opener, making him available for immediate duty, but officials did not outline whether he will be slotted for matchup work, multi-inning relief or shorter bursts while Fitzgerald recovers.
What comes next will be defined by two practical tests: whether Rom’s transition to relief and improved pitch metrics at Triple-A translate against big-league hitters, and how the Brewers manage their left-handed relief depth with Fitzpatrick sidelined. The most consequential unresolved question is straightforward — can the performance Rom showed at Nashville be replicated in Milwaukee’s bullpen — and the answer will shape how long he stays on the roster and what role he fills.
