The Brewers may have bigger names on the board, but Trevor Rogers keeps popping up as the kind of move Milwaukee likes to make when the deadline gets serious.
With the club tied for the best record in baseball entering play on July 29 and sitting on the best farm system in the game, the expectation is that Matt Arnold and the front office will be more willing to spend prospect capital this time around. That has naturally fueled dreams of a run at Tarik Skubal or Mason Miller, two headline-grabbing arms who would instantly change the look of Milwaukee’s pitching staff.
But a more realistic path could lead the Brewers somewhere less flashy and, in their usual style, a little more efficient. Milwaukee has long been comfortable working the edges of the market, and Pat Murphy’s “ivory tower” front office tends to hunt for value where other teams are focused on the biggest names. That’s where Rogers enters the picture.
The Orioles could be the key. Baltimore enters play on July 29 four games under .500, though still 2.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot in the American League. Even with that slim mathematical opening, the team is reportedly weighing major changes before the August 3 deadline.
Jeff Passan reported on his podcast “Sources Tell” that Baltimore has talked with other clubs about several of its young, controllable players, including Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser and Adley Rutschman. A deal for any of those three would be a major swing, but the broader possibility of a sell-off could put Rogers on the market for teams looking for starting pitching help.
On paper, the 4.17 ERA doesn’t jump off the page. But Rogers has shown enough before, and recently enough, to make him worth a hard look.
In 18 starts for the Orioles last year, the 28-year-old left-hander posted a 1.81 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. He has also started to settle back in over his last seven outings, putting up a 1.44 ERA in that stretch.
Rogers also brings more big-league experience than anyone currently in the Brewers’ rotation, even if his postseason résumé is limited to one start, an unsuccessful outing in 2020. And from a roster-building standpoint, the fit is obvious: he’s making $6.2 million this season and is on an expiring contract, which should make him easier to acquire than the top-tier arms drawing the loudest buzz.
Milwaukee would still love to land a blockbuster if one becomes possible. But if Skubal or Miller proves too expensive, Rogers stands out as the cheaper alternative who could still give the Brewers a meaningful arm for the stretch run. If Baltimore does move into sell mode, he should be on the list.
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The timing matters because the Brewers have been trying to keep the group intact while sorting through the edges of the roster. Jake Bauers is continuing to play through a chronic issue in his right big toe without an injured list move, and the club also saw utility infielder Braden Shewmake move on after being designated for assignment. For a team trying to stay steady on a long road swing, those are the kinds of little developments that can quickly add up. [Read more 🡒]