The Orioles made plenty of noise before the deadline, but Trevor Rogers wasn’t part of the shuffle.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the left-hander will remain in Baltimore after the deadline passed, even as president of baseball operations and GM Mike Elias kept working right up to the 5 p.m. central time cutoff. The Orioles were busy sellers and buyers at once, sending out Adley Rutschman, Taylor Ward, Tyler Wells, minor league pitcher Joe Glassey, and starter Dean Kremer, while also landing Rece Hinds and Codi Heuer.
Still, Rogers is staying put.
That’s notable given how much Elias moved around him. Baltimore entered the day at 54-58 and 2.5 games out of a wild card spot, and the roster has been reshaped enough that the Orioles may only have taken a small hit to their 17-18% chance of sneaking into the playoffs after the deadline dealings.
Rogers, 28, has been a steady part of the rotation since missing much of the season with a quad strain. He’s posted a 4.27 ERA, which matches last year’s total of 109 2/3 innings already, and he’s been sharper since June with a 2.21 ERA. The strikeout-to-walk profile behind that stretch, though, doesn’t quite match the run prevention; his 15.2 K-BB% since then tells a more complicated story.
Even with Kremer gone, Baltimore still has a workable rotation group in place with Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz, Rogers, and Brandon Young. Chris Bassitt could also be back soon after back surgery.
The Orioles also have ways to patch over some of the other departures. Carlos Narvaez and Samuel Basallo give them options behind the plate after Rutschman’s exit, and Dylan Beavers can step into left field for Ward. Wells’ departure leaves a hole in the bullpen, but the club has enough pieces to keep functioning.
There’s also the bigger-picture angle with Rogers. He looks like a candidate for a qualifying offer after the season, which MLBTR projects at around $23.1MM.
If he rejects that and lands a deal for $50MM or more, Baltimore would receive a draft pick right after the first round in 2027. That’s the same mechanism that brought the Orioles fifth-ranked prospect Wehiwa Aloy into the organization in 2025 after Anthony Santander left for Toronto.
Elias had every reason to weigh the trade offers against that future pick, the club’s still-live playoff hopes, and the possibility of keeping Rogers around longer through an extension. Baltimore has already handed out three extensions this year, to Baz, Bradish, and Yennier Cano. In the end, that mix of short-term and long-term considerations kept Rogers in orange and black.
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Michael Forret is back in the picture, and the appeal is obvious: Baltimore knows what he looked like when things were going well, and the Orioles are the kind of team that keeps tabs on that sort of arm even after roster churn sends him elsewhere. The wrinkle is that his path has changed since then, and the question now is whether the same traits that once made him intriguing can still translate into a real role after a stretch of uneven results. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Catching Depth Just Took Another Turn After The Rutschman Trade
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Tromp had been in a familiar role for Baltimore, providing catching depth after spending recent seasons in that kind of spot with both the Orioles and Braves. His exit ties back to the Orioles roster changes around Jake Rogers and the addition of Carlos Narvez and prospects in the trade with Boston, and it leaves one more layer of uncertainty in a group that has changed a lot in a short time. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Taylor Ward Trade Just Raised Two Big Questions
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The bigger question is what the Orioles actually got back and how much upside they believe is tucked into the pitching side of the deal. The return adds three right-handed arms to the organization, and the trade will be judged not just by Wards fit in Seattle but by whether Baltimore can turn this into the kind of pitching depth it has been trying to stockpile without sacrificing too much short-term offense. [Read more 🡒]