Trevor Rogers spent Monday afternoon bracing for a call that never came, and by Wednesday night he was rewarding the Orioles for keeping him around.
The 28-year-old left-hander said arriving in Baltimore’s clubhouse on Tuesday was a relief after a Trade Deadline day that dragged on far longer than he expected. With the Orioles moving Taylor Ward to Seattle about 5 1/2 hours before the 6 p.m. ET deadline, Rogers figured he might be next.
“Honestly, I was waiting for the call, and thankfully, it never came,” Rogers said. “I’m just so happy and stoked that I get to be here with this organization for the remainder of this year and get to be with this group of guys.”
Rogers backed up that gratitude with one of his best outings of the season, striking out a season-high nine over six-plus sharp innings in Baltimore’s 5-2 win over the Angels at Camden Yards. He allowed two earned runs on three hits, didn’t walk a batter and threw 93 pitches, 62 for strikes.
The Orioles have now taken two straight from the Halos since the deadline and remain in the middle of the crowded American League Wild Card picture at 56-58.
For Rogers, it was the seventh time in 123 MLB starts that he’s reached nine strikeouts or more. He finished one shy of his career best, which he has hit three times with the Marlins from 2020-21. It also matched his top strikeout total with Baltimore, with his other nine-strikeout outing for the club coming Aug. 24, 2025, against the Astros.
He was locked in for most of the night. Rogers retired 15 of the first 16 Angels he faced, with the only blemish in that stretch coming when Travis d’Arnaud reached on a two-out single in the second after a routine ground ball bounced off the bag at second base and into the outfield.
Jose Siri broke through with a leadoff homer in the sixth, and the other run charged to Rogers came after he exited. He opened the seventh by allowing a single to Nolan Schanuel, who later scored on Wade Meckler’s two-out pinch-hit single off Alex Hoppe.
Rogers now owns a 4.20 ERA in 21 starts this season, but he has been much sharper lately. Over 11 outings since June 4, he has posted a 2.28 ERA.
Baltimore’s offense did its damage in one swing after another. Every run came via the long ball.
Tyler O’Neill and Coby Mayo went back-to-back against Reid Detmers in the fourth, with O’Neill launching a Statcast-projected 426-foot two-run homer before Mayo followed with a 436-foot shot. Leody Taveras added a pinch-hit two-run homer in the eighth to make it 5-2.
In Other News...
Orioles Catching Depth Just Took Another Turn After The Rutschman Trade
Baltimores catching depth chart has been in constant motion, and Chadwick Tromp became the latest name to come and go. The Orioles announced the veteran backstop was designated for assignment as part of the roster shuffle tied to the clubs moves behind the plate, then cleared outright waivers and moved on from the organization after serving in a reserve role in Baltimore and previously with Atlanta.
The timing fits the larger reset around the position, with the Orioles making room for Jake Rogers before the roster picture shifted again in the trade with Boston that brought in Carlos Narvez and prospects. For a team trying to stabilize the catching pipeline while juggling short-term depth and long-term pieces, Tromps departure is another small but telling sign that the Orioles are still sorting out exactly what the group will look like from here. [Read more 🡒]
Trevor Rogers Has Forced A Tough Orioles Decision
Trevor Rogers has turned a late-season run into a real conversation for Baltimore, and his latest outing only added to it. At Camden Yards, Rogers and Reid Detmers both pitched well in a game the Orioles won 5-2 over the Angels, a reminder that even in a year defined by roster turnover, Baltimore still has a few arms capable of stabilizing things down the stretch.
Rogers has been strong in recent starts, enough that the Orioles are weighing what comes next as he heads toward free agency. With Baltimore still hanging around the Wild Card race after dealing key players at the deadline, his performance has made the left-hander one of the more interesting decisions on the board this offseason. [Read more 🡒]