With Spring Training on the horizon, it is important to know who a diamond in the rough for the Milwaukee Brewers might be. The best way to determine that is by reviewing the non-roster invitees.  

Recently, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com compiled a list of those invitees. 

“Milwaukee has shown a knack in recent years for uncovering gems by extending Minor League contracts with invitations to big league camp,” he wrote. “Jace Peterson, Brad Boxberger, Hoby Milner and Colin Rea were all non-roster invitees from 2021-23. In 2024, Tobias Myers and Jared Koenig parlayed the opportunity into Most Valuable Pitcher and “Unsung Hero” honors from the Milwaukee chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.”  

“Jake Bauers and top pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski were among the key non-roster invitees in 2025 who wound up playing significant roles in the Majors.” 

The first name on McCalvy’s list is right-hander Gerson Garabito. Garabito began his career with the Kansas City Royals in the organization’s 2013 Dominican Summer League at 17 years old. He bounced around the minor league systems of the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers before making his MLB debut on May 26, 2024. 

Garabito appeared in 18 games with the Rangers in 2024 and made two starts. In that stretch, he went 0-2 with a 4.78 ERA in 26.1 innings of work. 2025 proved more arduous for Garabito, as he appeared in just three games while logging a dismal 9.00 ERA and had as many earned runs as strikeouts and innings pitched (8). Now, he is trying to make a comeback. 

“Like Rea several seasons ago, Garabito is trying to parlay a successful stint in Asia to an opportunity in the big leagues,” McCalvy wrote. “The 30-year-old from the Dominican Republic ended the 2024 season and began the 2025 season in the Major Leagues with the Rangers, but he was sent down last year after three appearances and struggled to the tune of an 0-7 record and 8.81 ERA in 10 starts at Triple-A Round Rock.”  

“He went to South Korea for the remainder of the year and had much better success, recording a 3.56 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 78 1/3 innings (15 starts) in the KBO.” 

Another invitee on the list is left-hander Drew Rom. Rom made his MLB debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in August 2023 after coming to the organization as part of a package that sent right-hander Jack Flaherty to the Baltimore Orioles, the team that selected Rom in the fourth round of the 2018 MLB Draft. 

“The Cardinals had high hopes when they acquired Rom as one of three prospects in the Jack Flaherty deal at the 2023 Trade Deadline. A fourth-round Draft pick in 2018, Rom was MLB Pipeline’s No. 18 Orioles prospect at the time, but he had an 8.02 ERA and surrendered seven home runs in eight starts down the stretch before undergoing shoulder surgery the following spring that sidelined him for all of 2024 and limited him to seven starts in the Minors in ‘25. He is still just 26 years old.” 

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