The Nationals claimed Romero off waivers from the Rays on Thursday and optioned him to Triple-A Rochester, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Romero was roughed up in his three MLB appearances this season and had moved to the bullpen at Triple-A Durham following the All-Star break, but expect the 25-year-old right-hander to get stretched back into a starting role as he joins a new organization. With prospect Cade Cavalli set to join the Nationals this weekend for his big-league debut, Rochester already has a rotation spot open for Romero to potentially claim. Over his final 13 appearances (four starts) for Durham, Romero was lights out, as he produced an 0.64 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 23:7 K:BB across 28.1 innings.