TORONTO — When the Orioles acquired left-hander Trevor Rogers at the trade deadline, it had as much to do with the next two seasons as it did 2024.
Now, with No. 2 starter Grayson Rodriguez dealing with a potential lat injury, the pressure on Rogers to revitalize what has been a disappointing year may increase. Of course, any major adjustments Rogers will undergo in a bid to return to his best may be seen most clearly in 2025 and beyond, once the southpaw has time to overhaul his mechanics.
But, since Rogers arrived a week ago and made his debut in Cleveland, Orioles coaches have pushed for several adjustments that could pay off in the short term. After one start, in which Rogers allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings, Baltimore’s coaching staff began presenting him with alternate attack plans and minor mechanical tweaks in an effort to replicate his All-Star success of 2021.
It’s a lot of information all at once. But for Rogers the whirlwind builds excitement heading into his second appearance with his new team, when he takes the mound Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays.
“The information is a lot more than what I’m used to, in a good way,” Rogers said. “Just their ability to break things down and show me what I was doing right when I was going really well and where I’m at now, and how I can get back to being the guy I know I can be. I was really pumped about that. Their tools and their knowledge that they have for me, just leading up to the next two months and two years that I’m here, I’m really excited about that.”
Realistically, any massive overhaul won’t occur during the season, when Rogers is on a five-day schedule that leaves little room for experimentation or major mechanical changes. But there are fixes that are possible on a shorter timetable, beginning with Rogers’ pitch mix.
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He has never thrown his four-seam fastball less than this season. In 2021, when Rogers posted a 2.64 ERA, he used the heater 57.7% of the time. Now Rogers is turning to it on 32.4% of his offerings. That could be an area to elevate, particularly given the lack of success Rogers has found with his other pitches.
Batters are hitting .302 against his changeup, .279 on his slider and .283 against the sinker. The .248 average hitters hold against Rogers’ four-seamer isn’t super, but it’s better.
“I think you can change how you go about attacking hitters, or your pitch mix and stuff like that, but to have a drastic change in your pitch shapes? That’s going to be really, really tough,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I do know they’re working hard with him. I know they’ve dove into a lot of things with him, and hopefully that’s helpful the rest of the season.”
During the end of his time in Miami, when his performances improved, Rogers said, he found success because he added more variability to what he threw and when he threw it. He mixed in off-speed pitches in traditional fastball counts and changed pitch locations.
“Just finding where my strengths are,” Rogers said of his final 11 Marlins starts — a stretch in which he posted a 3.32 ERA with two runs or fewer in nine of them. “I think meaningless walks really killed me earlier in the year. Really, attacking the zone with all my stuff and really just not being predictable, I think those two things have really helped me.”
In the six days since Rogers arrived and immediately pitched to Adley Rutschman — a catcher whom he met two hours before the game — Baltimore’s pitching coaches have also circled one mechanical adjustment that could be more feasible to introduce before the end of the season.
In 2021, when Rogers pitched his best and finished second for the National League Rookie of the Year award, he planted his lead leg and straightened it as he was releasing the ball. More recently, and in his first start last week, Rogers’ leg remained bent far longer through the delivery.
With his leg bent, Rogers is minimizing his velocity output — with his leg firm, he can work up more momentum through his body. His fastball is down 2.5 mph this year compared to 2021, and a weaker point of contact with his right leg could be a major reason.
“So it’s something that I’ve been working on and trying to feel,” Rogers said. “It’s been a while since I’ve had that feeling, so go at it every day and just get better each and every day.”
That could also be playing a role in Rogers’ inconsistency. With a straight leg, repeating his delivery is more likely. The bent leg could add more erraticism in mechanics. Every year since 2021, Rogers’ strikeout percentage has declined, from the heights of 28.5% to the lows of 17.8% this year. Rogers’ walk rate is 9.9%, his highest since 2020.
The tweaks, Rogers hopes, will help him perform at a higher level than he did on his debut. A turnaround for Rogers is all the more imperative if Rodriguez misses time.
“Looking back at mechanics from a couple years ago, really just seeing what I was doing well in both mechanics and kind of what I got away from,” Rogers said. “I think it’s minor adjustments that are going to take time, but just knowing that I have a plan to go about it, I’m really excited about it.”
