Jake Rogers arrived in Chicago as the kind of catcher teams usually hope they never need to find: a waiver claim, a short-term fix, a name that doesn’t exactly scream long-term solution. The White Sox weren’t hunting for a headline addition behind the plate. They were patching a problem.
That need started with a messy catching picture. Kyle Teel has been injured most of this season, Edgar Quero hasn’t gotten back to last year’s level, and Drew Romo doesn’t bring enough offense to profile as a primary catcher.
The Sox then added Joey Bart before the deadline, looking like they had their answer, only for Bart to get hurt and send them scrambling again. That opened the door for Rogers, who the Red Sox placed on waivers and the White Sox claimed.
On paper, Rogers looks like the kind of player who comes and goes without much notice. Fangraphs has his career wRC+ at 78.
He rarely gets to 100 games in a season. His defense has usually been solid, but Fangraphs has also graded him below average behind the plate just as often as it has liked him.
By the usual numbers, he’s basically replacement level.
But that’s not the whole story.
Rogers spent most of his career with the Tigers after Detroit acquired him from the Astros in a trade in 2017. He debuted in the majors in 2019 and, outside of the shortened 2020 season in Toledo and all of 2022, which he missed after Tommy John surgery, he was around the organization for seven years. Even with uneven playing time and modest offensive production, he became a player Tigers fans cared about.
There was real value in the way he fit there. Tarik Skubal was considered his personal catcher, and Skubal has credited Rogers with helping him get his first Cy Young award.
In 2024, with the Tigers wobbling, Rogers hit a crucial Grand Slam in July that helped spark the turnaround that ended with a Wild Card spot. He also had his best offensive season in 2023, when he started behind the plate and hit 21 homers with an .802 OPS.
So when he came back to Detroit with the Sox, the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Then came the strange, fast-moving stretch that made his name pop up all over again. Rogers has now played for four teams in a 21-day span, a record. Frank Huelsman had the previous mark, moving between four teams in 42 days back in 1904.
The path from Detroit to Chicago went through more than one stop. Rogers played three games for the Orioles and three for the Red Sox before landing with the White Sox.
Baltimore needed a stop-gap with two injured catchers, and Rogers filled that role. He didn’t do much there, but he did more in Boston, where he collected a single, two doubles, two walks, and two RBIs in 9 PAs.
Then he brought some immediate life to the South Side. Rogers hit a walk-off home run Friday against the Mets, and that kind of moment is exactly why a player like him can matter more than his stat line suggests.
He isn’t going to turn into a star, and nobody should expect him to recreate his 2023 run. Still, he gives the White Sox a dependable catcher they can bat near the bottom of the order while they sort out what comes next.
With Kyle Teel set for a rehab assignment, Rogers’ future with the organization is unclear. Even so, he’s already shown why he’s worth keeping in mind. He may not look like much at first glance, but there’s more to him than the surface numbers show.
In Other News...
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White Sox Could Land A Proven Arm If Toronto Changes Course
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Bieber has recently looked solid, which only adds to the intrigue around his status as the Blue Jays stay in the playoff race. For the White Sox, the appeal is less about chasing a splash and more about staying alert for an opportunity that might not last long, especially with a pitcher of Biebers caliber potentially becoming available only if Toronto changes course. [Read more 🡒]